Therapeutic agent for ulcerative colitis

Abstract

Disclosed are pharmaceutical compositions of treatment for a patient with ulcerative colitis comprising a drug which can selectively kill Fusobacterium varium cells, or a drug which can neutralize the toxin produced by Fusobacterium varium cells, a method for screening such a drug, a method for treating a patient with the disease, a vaccine for the disease, a diagnostic drug, a diagnostic method, an experimental model for the disease and an experimental animal for the disease.

1 . A pharmaceutical composition of treatment for a patient with ulcerative colitis comprising a drug which can selectively kill  Fusobacterium varium  cells.  
     
     
         2 . A pharmaceutical composition of treatment for a patient with ulcerative colitis comprising a drug which can neutralize the toxin produced by  Fusobacterium varium  cells.  
     
     
         3 . A pharmaceutical composition of treatment for a patient with ulcerative colitis comprising a drug which can inhibit the adhesion of  Fusobacterium varium  cells to the intestinal mucosa.  
     
     
         4 . A pharmaceutical composition of treatment for a patient with ulcerative colitis comprising a drug which can inhibit the invasion of  Fusobacterium varium  cells into the intestinal mucosa.  
     
     
         5 . A vaccine for preventing ulcerative colitis from infection with  Fusobacterium varium  comprising a drug as set forth in  claim 1 .  
     
     
         6 . A vaccine for preventing ulcerative colitis from infection with  Fusobacterium varium  comprising a drug as set forth in  claim 2 .  
     
     
         7 . A vaccine for preventing ulcerative colitis from infection with  Fusobacterium varium  comprising a drug as set forth in  claim 3 .  
     
     
         8 . A vaccine for preventing ulcerative colitis from infection with  Fusobacterium varium  comprising a drug as set forth in  claim 4 .  
     
     
         9 . A method for screening a drug for selectively killing  Fusobacterium varium  cells comprising the step of administering a drug to be examined to an experimental model of  Fusobacterium varium -infection to thus select a drug, which can selectively kill the bacterium.  
     
     
         10 . A method for screening a therapeutic agent for ulcerative colitis comprising the step of administering a candidate drug which selectively kills the bacterium in a patient with ulcerative colitis and positive to  Fusobacterium varium  to thus select a drug capable of improving the symptoms of the patients suffering from the disease.  
     
     
         11 . An animal as a model of ulcerative colitis obtained by administering a toxin produced by  Fusobacterium varium  to an animal.  
     
     
         12 . The animal model of ulcerative colitis as set forth in  claim 11 , wherein the toxin is butyric acid.  
     
     
         13 . An animal as a model for ulcerative colitis comprising living  Fusobacterium varium  cells adhered to the mucosa.  
     
     
         14 . (canceled)  
     
     
         15 . An agent for making a diagnosis of ulcerative colitis comprising an antibody against  Fusobacterium varium,  which has the highest detection sensitivity and the highest specificity.  
     
     
         16 . A method for making a diagnosis of ulcerative colitis caused by  Fusobacterium varium  in a patient, which comprises: 
 (a) obtaining sera from said patient;    (b) detecting an antibody for  Fusobacterium varium  in said sera; and    (c) correlating the presence of an antibody for  Fusobacterium varium  in said sera with ulcerative colitis.    
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein said antibody is detected using western blotting method.  
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein said antibody is detected using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).  
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein said method for making a diagnosis of ulcerative colitis is a differential diagnosis between ulcerative colitis and inflammatory bowel disease.