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Copyright ©The Author(s) 2015. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Oct 28, 2015; 21(40): 11343-11352
Published online Oct 28, 2015. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v21.i40.11343
Nanomedicine and drug delivery strategies for treatment of inflammatory bowel disease
Hidetoshi Takedatsu, Keiichi Mitsuyama, Takuji Torimura
Hidetoshi Takedatsu, Keiichi Mitsuyama, Takuji Torimura, Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Medicine, Kurume University School of Medicine, Fukuoka 830-0011, Japan
Author contributions: Takedatsu H, Mitsuyama K, and Torimura T contributed to this paper.
Supported by the Japanese Society for the Promotion of Science, KAKENHI Grant No. 25460963.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare no conflict of interest.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Correspondence to: Hidetoshi Takedatsu, MD, PhD, Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Medicine, Kurume University School of Medicine, 67 Asahi-machi, Kurume, Fukuoka 830-0011, Japan. takedatsu_hidetoshi@kurume-u.ac.jp
Telephone: +81-942-353311 Fax: +81-942-342623
Received: April 15, 2015
Peer-review started: April 18, 2014
First decision: May 18, 2014
Revised: May 28, 2015
Accepted: August 29, 2015
Article in press: August 31, 2015
Published online: October 28, 2015
Processing time: 190 Days and 20.2 Hours
Abstract

Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis are two important categories of human inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Because the precise mechanisms of the inflammation and immune responses in IBD have not been fully elucidated, the treatment of IBD primarily aims to inhibit the pathogenic factors of the inflammatory cascade. Inconsistencies exist regarding the response and side effects of the drugs that are currently used to treat IBD. Recent studies have suggested that the use of nanomedicine might be advantageous for the treatment of intestinal inflammation because nano-sized molecules can effectively penetrate epithelial and inflammatory cells. We reviewed nanomedicine treatments, such as the use of small interfering RNAs, antisense oligonucleotides, and anti-inflammatory molecules with delivery systems in experimental colitis models and clinical trials for IBD based on a systematic search. The efficacy and usefulness of the treatments reviewed in this manuscript have been demonstrated in experimental colitis models and clinical trials using various types of nanomedicine. Nanomedicine is expected to become a new therapeutic approach to the treatment of IBD.

Keywords: Inflammatory bowel disease; Crohn’s disease; Ulcerative colitis; Nanomedicine; Small interfering RNA; Antisense oligonucleotide

Core tip: Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis are important categories of human inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). IBD treatment generally involves attempting to inhibit pathogenic factors of the inflammatory cascade. Recent studies suggest that nanomedicine provides advantages over conventional treatments for the treatment of intestinal inflammation because nano-size molecules can effectively penetrate epithelial and inflammatory cells. The efficacy and usefulness of the nanomedicine treatments reviewed in this manuscript have been validated in experimental colitis models and clinical trials. Nanomedicine is therefore expected to become a new therapeutic approach to the treatment of IBD.