PHARMACEUTICAL COMPOSITION FOR COMBINATION THERAPY COMPRISING MELATONIN AND PROSTAGLANDIN E2 FOR TREATING INTESTINAL EPITHELIAL INJURY AS AN ACTIVE INGREDIENT

Abstract

The present invention relates to a pharmaceutical composition for combined administration of melatonin and prostaglandin E.sub.2 (PGE.sub.2) for the treatment of intestinal epithelial injury diseases, and it is confirmed that when intestinal epithelial organoids are treated in combination with melatonin and PGE.sub.2, the expression of revival stem cell markers increases more than when the two substances are treated alone, and therefore it can be usefully used as a composition for preventing, treating or improving intestinal epithelial injury diseases.

Claims

1. A method for preventing or treating intestinal epithelial injury disease comprising: administering a pharmaceutical composition comprising melatonin or an agonist of melatonin receptor; and PGE.sub.2 (prostaglandin E2) or an agonist of PGE.sub.2 receptor as an active ingredient.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the agonist of melatonin receptor is 8M-PDOT.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the agonist of PGE.sub.2 receptor is at least one selected from the group consisting of Cay10598, TCS2510, L-902,688 and ONO-AEI-329.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the pharmaceutical composition comprises 100 to 600 M of the melatonin or the agonist of melatonin receptor and 0.05 to 20 M of the PGE.sub.2 or the agonist of PGE.sub.2 receptor.

5. The pharmaceutical composition method of claim 1, wherein the pharmaceutical composition exhibits an effect of inducing revival stem cells.

6. The pharmaceutical composition method of claim 1, wherein the pharmaceutical composition increases expression of one or more markers selected from the group consisting of clusterin, Ly6a and Claudin-4.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the intestinal epithelial injury disease is at least one selected from the group consisting intestinal metaplasia, Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, ulcerative duodenitis, hemorrhagic rectal ulcer, leaky gut syndrome, gastritis, gastric ulcer, pouchitis, enteritis and ischemic colitis.

8. (canceled)

9. A composition for inducing revival stem cells comprising melatonin or an agonist of melatonin receptor; and PGE.sub.2 (prostaglandin E2) or an agonist of PGE.sub.2 receptor as an active ingredient.

10-11. (canceled)

12. A method of inducing revival stem cells comprising: administering melatonin or an agonist of melatonin receptor; and PGE.sub.2 (prostaglandin E2) or an agonist of PGE.sub.2 receptor as an active ingredient.

Description

DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0016] FIGS. 1a and 1b shows a result of comparing and analyzing the expression and cell induction changes of Ly6a, a revival stem cell-specific marker, in mouse intestinal epithelial organoids according to melatonin and PGE.sub.2 treatment.

[0017] FIG. 2 shows a result of comparing and analyzing the changes of Ly6a expression in mouse intestinal epithelial organoids through activation of MT1, MT2, EP2, and EP4 receptors. For the receptor activation, the following materials were used: 2-iodomelatonin was used for MT1 receptor activation, 8M-PDOT for MT2 receptor activation, Butaprost for EP2 receptor activation, and Cay10598 for EP4 receptor activation.

[0018] FIG. 3 shows a result of comparing and analyzing the expression changes of Clusterin, a revival stem cell marker, according to treatment with melatonin, 8M-PDOT, and PGE.sub.2 in human-derived intestinal epithelial organoids.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0019] Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail.

[0020] The present invention provides a pharmaceutical composition for preventing or treating intestinal epithelial injury disease comprising melatonin or an agonist of melatonin receptor; and PGE.sub.2 (prostaglandin E2) or an agonist of PGE.sub.2 receptor as an active ingredient.

[0021] The agonist of the melatonin receptor may be 8M-PDOT.

[0022] The PGE.sub.2 receptor agonist may be at least one selected from the group consisting of Cay10598, TCS2510, L-902,688 and ONO-AEI-329.

[0023] The pharmaceutical composition may contain 100 to 600 M of melatonin or its receptor agonist and 0.05 to 20 M of PGE.sub.2 or its receptor agonist, but it is not limited thereto.

[0024] In addition, the pharmaceutical composition is characterized by exhibiting an effect of inducing revival stem cells.

[0025] In addition, the pharmaceutical composition may increase the expression of one or more markers selected from the group consisting of clusterin, Ly6a and Claudin-4, but it is not limited thereto.

[0026] The intestinal epithelial injury disease is at least one selected from the group consisting intestinal metaplasia, Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, ulcerative duodenitis, hemorrhagic rectal ulcer, leaky gut syndrome, gastritis, gastric ulcer, pouchitis, enteritis and ischemic colitis, but it is not limited thereto.

[0027] The pharmaceutical composition of the present invention can be prepared in a unit dose form or in a multi-dose container by formulating using a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier according to a method that can be easily performed by those skilled in the art to which the invention pertains.

[0028] The pharmaceutically acceptable carrier is one commonly used in formulation, and includes lactose, dextrose, sucrose, sorbitol, mannitol, starch, acacia gum, calcium phosphate, alginate, gelatin, calcium silicate, microcrystalline cellulose, polyvinylpyrrolidone, cellulose, water, syrup, methyl cellulose, methyl hydroxybenzoate, propyl hydroxybenzoate, talc, magnesium stearate and mineral oil, and the like, but it is not limited thereto. The pharmaceutical composition of the present invention may further include lubricants, wetting agents, sweeteners, flavoring agents, emulsifiers, suspending agents, preservatives, and the like, in addition to the above components.

[0029] In the present invention, the content of the additives included in the pharmaceutical composition is not particularly limited and may be appropriately adjusted within the range of content used in conventional formulations.

[0030] The pharmaceutical composition may be formulated into the form of one or more external agents selected from the group consisting of an injectable formulation such as aqueous solution, suspension, or emulsion, pill, capsule, granule, tablet, cream, gel, patch, spray, ointment, plaster, lotion, liniment, pasta, and cataplasma.

[0031] The pharmaceutical composition of the present invention may additionally contain pharmaceutically acceptable carriers and diluents for formulation. The pharmaceutically acceptable carriers and diluents include excipients such as starch, sugar and mannitol, fillers and extenders such as calcium phosphate, binder such as cellulose derivatives including carboxymethyl cellulose and hydroxypropyl cellulose, gelatin, alginates, and polyvinyl pyrrolidone, etc., lubricants such as talc, calcium stearate, hydrogenated castor oil and polyethylene glycol, disintegrants such as povidone, crospovidone, surfactants such as polysorbates, cetyl alcohol, and glycerol, but it is not limited thereto. The pharmaceutically acceptable carrier and diluent may be biologically and physiologically compatible with the subject. Examples of diluents include saline, aqueous buffers, solvents and/or dispersion media, but they are not limited thereto.

[0032] The pharmaceutical composition of the present invention may be administered orally or parenterally (e.g., intravenous, subcutaneous, intraperitoneal or topical application) depending on the desired method. For oral administration, it may be formulated into tablets, troches, lozenges, aqueous suspensions, oily suspensions, powders, granules, emulsions, hard capsules, soft capsules, syrups or elixirs, etc. For parenteral administration, it may be formulated into injection solution, suppository, powder for respiratory inhalation, aerosol for spray, ointment, powder for application, oil or cream, etc.

[0033] The dosage of the pharmaceutical composition of the present invention depends on the condition and weight, age, sex, health condition, dietary constitution specificity of the patient, the nature of the preparation, the severity of the disease, the administration time of the composition, the administration method, the administration period or interval, the excretion rate and the type of drug, which may be appropriately selected by a person skilled in the art. For example, it may range from about 0.1 to 10,000 mg/kg, but it is not limited thereto, and may be divided and administered once or several times a day.

[0034] The pharmaceutical composition may be administered orally or parenterally (e.g., intravenous, subcutaneous, intraperitoneal or topical application) depending on the desired method. The pharmaceutically effective amount and effective dose of the pharmaceutical composition of the present invention may vary depending on the formulation method, administration method, administration time and/or administration route of the pharmaceutical composition, and a person of ordinary skill in the art can readily determine and prescribe an effective dosage for the desired treatment. Administration of the pharmaceutical composition of the present invention may be administered once a day, or may be divided and administered several times.

[0035] In addition, the present invention provides a health functional food composition for preventing or improving intestinal epithelial injury disease comprising melatonin or an agonist of melatonin receptor; and PGE.sub.2 (prostaglandin E2) or an agonist of PGE.sub.2 receptor as an active ingredient.

[0036] The present invention can be generally used as a commonly used food.

[0037] The food composition of the present invention can be used as a health functional food. The term health functional food refers to food manufactured and processed using raw materials or ingredients having useful functionalities for the human body in accordance with the Health Functional Foods Act, and the term functional refers to intake for the purpose of obtaining useful effects for health purposes such as adjusting nutrients for the structure and function of the human body or physiological functions.

[0038] The health functional food composition may include conventional food additives, and the suitability as the food additive is determined by the specification and standards for the applicable item in accordance with General Regulations and General Test Methods of Korean Food Additives Codex approved by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, unless otherwise provided.

[0039] Examples of the items published in the above-mentioned Korean Food Additives Codex include chemical synthetics such as ketones, glycine, potassium citrate, nicotinic acid, and cinnamic acid and the like, natural additives such as persimmon color, licorice extract, crystalline cellulose, kaoliang color and guar gum and the like, mixed preparations such as L-sodium glutamate preparation, alkaline agents for noodles, preservative formulation and a tar color formulation and the like.

[0040] The food composition of the present invention may be prepared and processed in the form of tablets, capsules, powders, granules, liquids, pills and the like. For example, among health functional foods in the form of capsules, hard capsules can be prepared by mixing and filling a composition according to the present invention with additives such as excipients in a conventional hard capsule, and soft capsules can be prepared by mixing the composition according to the present invention with additives such as excipients and filling them in a capsule base such as gelatin. The soft capsule may contain a plasticizer such as glycerin or sorbitol, a coloring agent, a preservative, and the like, if necessary.

[0041] Definitions of terms for the excipients, binders, disintegrants, lubricants, bitters, flavoring agents, etc. are described in literature known in the art, and include those having the same or similar functions. There is no particular limitation on the type of food, and it includes all health functional foods in a conventional sense.

[0042] As used herein, the term prevention refers to any action of inhibiting or delaying a disease by administering the composition according to the present invention. As used herein, the term treatment refers to any action that improves or beneficially alters the symptoms of a disease by administering the composition according to the present invention. As used herein, improvement means any action that improves the bad condition of a disease by administering or ingesting the composition of the present invention to a subject.

[0043] In addition, the present invention provides a composition for inducing revival stem cells comprising melatonin or an agonist of melatonin receptor; and PGE.sub.2 (prostaglandin E2) or an agonist of PGE.sub.2 receptor as an active ingredient.

[0044] In addition, the present invention provides a pharmaceutical composition for combined administration for treating intestinal epithelial injury disease comprising melatonin or an agonist of melatonin receptor; and PGE.sub.2 (prostaglandin E2) or an agonist of PGE.sub.2 receptor as an active ingredient.

[0045] In addition, the present invention provides a method of treating intestinal epithelial injury diseases comprising administering melatonin or an agonist of melatonin receptor; and PGE.sub.2 (prostaglandin E2) or an agonist of PGE.sub.2 receptor as an active ingredient.

[0046] Furthermore, the present invention provides a method of inducing revival stem cells comprising administering melatonin or an agonist of melatonin receptor; and PGE.sub.2 (prostaglandin E2) or an agonist of PGE.sub.2 receptor as an active ingredient.

[0047] Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail through examples. These examples are intended to explain the present invention in more detail, and the scope of the present invention is not limited to these examples.

[EXAMPLE 1] Confirmation of Induction of Revival Stem Cell Population by Treatment of Melatonin and PGE.SUB.2 .in Mouse Intestinal Epithelial Organoids

[0048] Mouse-derived small intestinal epithelial organoids were obtained as follows. First, small intestine tissue (duodenum about 10-15 cm) was isolated from 8-week-old C57BL/6N mice, and the intestinal lumen was washed with PBS using a 1 ml pipette tip, and the tissue was opened with the lumen facing up, and the remaining mucus, food, and intestinal villi were scraped off and removed. Thereafter, about 25 ml of PBS was filled in a 50 ml tube, and the intestinal tissue was cut to a length of about 2 to 4 mm and washed by shaking vigorously (repeated about 3 to 4 times). The washed intestinal tissue was suspended in 20 ml of Gentle cell dissociation reagent (100-0485, stemcell technologies) and reacted for 15 to 20 minutes while shaking at 20 rpm at room temperature. After the reaction was completed, crypts were separated from the intestinal tissue by vortexing at maximum speed for 5 seconds, and the tissue was removed and centrifuged at 290 g for 5 minutes. The collected cell pellet was resuspended in 10 ml of PBS, centrifuged at 290 g for 5 minutes, and then the cell pellet was suspended in DMEM/F12 medium to confirm the number of crypts. About 500 crypts per 24 well are mixed with 20 l of cell culture medium (IntestiCult Organoid Growth Medium for Mouse, 05005, stemcell technologies) and 20 l of Matrigel (354230, corning), planted in a dome shape in the center of the well, and placed in a cell culture incubator. After standing for 10 minutes and waiting for the gel to harden, 750 l of IntestiCult was added and cultured.

[0049] The obtained mouse-derived small intestinal epithelial organoids were treated with melatonin (500 m, 14427, Cayman) and PGE.sub.2 (prostaglandin E2, 100 nM; 14010, Cayman) alone or in combination for 5 days, and microarray was performed to track gene expression changes. RNA was extracted from the organoids using the RNeasy Kit (Qiagen), cDNA was synthesized using the GeneChip WT (Whole Transcript) Amplification kit, and analyzed using the Clariom S Affymetrix GeneChip Array (Affymetrix).

[0050] As a result of comparing the fold change by calculating the expression difference between each group, PGE.sub.2 induced Clusterin (hereinafter referred to as Clu) and Ly6a, which are revival stem cell markers and Claudin-4 (hereinafter referred to as Cldn4), which is an epithelial regeneration-related marker, and showed the most excellent induction effect, especially when combined with melatonin (Table 1).

TABLE-US-00001 TABLE 1 M/C M/C P/C P/C MP/C MP/C FC p-value FC p-value FC p-value Cldn4 1.0013 0.9912 1.9264 0.0559 3.9237 0.0101 Clu 1.2252 0.6539 1.7590 0.1632 8.7925 0.0488 Ly6a 1.1646 0.4268 9.7349 0.0158 45.3127 0.0172 FC = fold change M/C = melatonin/control P/C = PGE.sub.2/control MP/C = melatonin-PGE.sub.2/control

[0051] In addition, changes in the percentage of cells expressing Ly6a, a specific marker for revival stem cells, were evaluated by flow cytometry. For flow cytometry, mouse small intestine epithelial organoids were treated with melatonin (500 M) and PGE.sub.2 (100 nM) alone or in combination for 5 days, and the organoids were reacted with TrypLE Express Enzyme (Thermo Fisher) for 5 minutes at 37 C. to produce single cells. Thereafter, the Ly6a antibody (12-5981-82, Thermo Fisher) fluorescently labeled with PE was diluted 1:250 in PBS containing 3% BSA, and 200 l of the diluted solution was mixed with the single celled sample and allowed to stand in a dark room at 4 C. for 1 hour. Then, each sample was washed with PBS (300 g, centrifuged for 5 minutes) and immediately analyzed with an Accuri C6 flow cytometer.

[0052] As a result, it was confirmed that Ly6a expression was most remarkably increased upon melatonin-PGE.sub.2 combined treatment (FIG. 1a and FIG. 1b).

[EXAMPLE 2] Confirmation of Induction of Revival Stem Cell Population by Treatment of Mouse Intestinal Epithelial Organoid with Melatonin Analogue and PGE.SUB.2 .Receptor Specific Agonist

[0053] In order to further specify the mechanism of inducing revival stem cells, mouse-derived intestinal epithelial organoids were treated with a combination of various melatonin analogues and a specific agonist of the PGE.sub.2 receptor. As melatonin analogues, 2-iodomelatonin (200 M; 19711, Cayman) or 8M-PDOT (200 M; 29521, Cayman), specific agonist for MT1 or MT2 receptors, which are representative receptors of melatonin, were used, and as PGE.sub.2 analogues, Butaprost (10 M; 13740, Cayman) and Cay10598 (10 M; 13281, Cayman), specific analogues of EP2 and EP4 receptors, respectively, were used. After treatment with each combination for 5 days, flow cytometric analysis was performed on the ratio of Ly6a-expressing cells in the same manner as in Example 1.

[0054] As a result, the combination of PGE.sub.2 and 8M-PDOT showed a similar degree of revival stem cell induction ability as the combination of PGE.sub.2 and melatonin, whereas the combination of PGE.sub.2 and 2-iodomelatonin did not show a specific induction effect. In addition, as a result of treatment with Butaprost and Cay10598, Butaprost did not show a specific induction effect, whereas Cay10598 showed an induction effect similar to or higher than that of PGE.sub.2 (FIG. 2). This suggests that revival stem cells are induced when the EP4 receptor is specifically activated.

[0055] To verify this hypothesis, the EP4 receptor-specific inhibitor L-161,982 (10 M; 1001156, Cayman) was co-treated to the PGE.sub.2 alone treatment group and the 8M-PDOT and PGE.sub.2 combined treatment group. It was confirmed that the induction of revival stem cells was greatly suppressed by the treatment of L-161,982. In contrary, there was no effect when treated with PF-04418948 (20 M, 15016, Cayman), an EP2 receptor-specific inhibitor (FIG. 2).

[0056] In conclusion, it was demonstrated that the revival stem cells are induced by the EP4 receptor activation and the synergistic action by melatonin is mediated by the MT2 receptor activation.

[EXAMPLE 3] Confirmation of Induction of Revival Stem Cell Population by Treatment of Melatonin and PGE.SUB.2 .Receptor Specific Agonists in Human Intestinal Epithelial Organoids

[0057] Human-derived intestinal epithelial organoids were treated with melatonin and its analogues and PGE.sub.2 to confirm whether revival stem cells were induced as observed in mouse intestinal organoids. In order to obtain intestinal epithelial organoids, donated human colon tissue was cut into a size of about 1 cm 2, placed in PBS containing gentamicin (10 g/ml, Gibco), and allowed to stand at 4 C. for 30 minutes. Then, the tissue was taken out and the mucous layer was scraped off using forceps, and the process of shaking and washing in PBS was repeated 5 to 6 times, as in the case of mice. After washing, the tissue was put into 25 ml of Gentle cell dissociation reagent and reacted by shaking at 200 rpm for 20 minutes at 37 C. After vortexing at the maximum speed, the crypts were separated and cultured by washing in the same process as in mice. At this time, IntestiCult Organoid Growth Medium for Human (06010, stemcell technologies) was used as the culture medium. The obtained human intestinal epithelial organoids were treated alone or in combination with melatonin, 8M-PDOT, and PGE.sub.2 at the same concentrations as in the mouse experiment, and then the expression level of Clusterin (CLU) was compared through quantitative PCR. RNA was extracted with the RNeasy Kit and cDNA was synthesized, followed by reaction at 95 C. for 10 seconds; and 60 C. for 30 seconds (40 cycles) to perform the experiment. The CLU primers used at this time were Forward: 5-GTTGCTTTTGCACCTACGGG-3 and Reverse: 5-GAGCAGCAGAGTCGAGTGTT-3.

[0058] As a result, CLU expression increased in human intestinal epithelial organoids similarly to mouse intestinal epithelial organoids when treated with PGE.sub.2 alone, and the expression was further increased in the melatonin and PGE.sub.2 combined treatment group and 8M-PDOT and PGE.sub.2 combined treatment group (FIG. 3).

[0059] While the present invention has been particularly described with reference to specific embodiments thereof, it is apparent that this specific description is only a preferred embodiment and that the scope of the present invention is not limited thereby to those skilled in the art. That is, the practical scope of the present invention is defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.