Patent Description:
Asthma is a heterogenous inflammatory disorder of the airways characterized by chronic inflammation, airway hyper responsiveness, and by symptoms of recurrent wheezing, coughing, and shortness of breath. Asthma is a major public health problem affecting <NUM> million people worldwide, and has increased considerably in prevalence over the past three decades, particularly in the western world (Cosmi et al. The mechanisms of pathogenesis however, remain elusive. Steroids and combination therapies with long-acting β-agonists are the mainstay of asthma treatment. These therapies effectively suppress acute inflammatory symptoms and cytokine release but there are no preventions or cure of disease to date.

Mild to moderate allergic asthma is generally characterized by acute or chronic airway inflammation consisting of activated Th2 lymphocytes and eosinophil infiltrates in association with IgE production, mucus secreting cells, hyperplasia and metaplasia, remodeling of the airway wall and airway hyper responsiveness (AHR). The AHR is characterized by enhanced responsiveness and constriction of the airways to nonspecific spasmogenic stimuli, such as methacholine (Hansbro et al. Th2 cells, through the secretion of their cytokines IL-<NUM>, IL-<NUM>, IL-<NUM>, IL-<NUM>, IL-<NUM>, amongst others, contribute to various pathological features of the disease.

Severe, neutrophilic or steroid refractory asthma has different pathological features to mild to moderate allergic asthma and is characterized by a mixed Th2/Th1 phenotype with a possible contribution of Th17 cells. Tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, Interferon (IFN)-γ, IL-<NUM> and IL-<NUM> are elevated and may induce the influx of neutrophils (rather than eosinophils) or a mixed granulocytic airway infiltrate that is characteristic for this subtype of asthma. Patients with this subtype of asthma are refractory to glucocorticoid treatment and both bacterial and viral infections are implicated in the induction and progression of disease (Hansbro et al. Also, asthmatic patients and patients with atopic dermatitis are more likely to develop infections e.g. pneumonia compared with non-atopic individuals.

The concept of treating asthma by targeting a single cytokine e.g. anti IL-<NUM>; anti IL-<NUM>; anti TNF-α has had limited success. Indeed, steroid therapy, which is currently the mainstay therapy, is thought to act by suppressing a range of pro-inflammatory pathways (Hansbro et al, <NUM>).

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). COPD is a major public health problem projected to be the fourth leading cause of death worldwide by <NUM>. Although persistent inhalation of toxic particles and gases are the major risk factors, with tobacco smoking being the best example of this type of risk, only <NUM> % of smokers develop COPD (Fletcher and Peto, <NUM>). Although smokers have a dysfunctional immune system (Bouloukaki et al. , <NUM>), the development and increasing disease severity of COPD progressively worsens the inflammatory cell burden (Hogg et al.

Microbiome. Infant microbiota is initially uniform across various body sites, differing in subsequent days and weeks into site-specific communities. The lung microbiome of healthy adults is dominated by the phylae Bacteroidetes, Firmicutes, and Proteobacteria with the core microbiota consisting of Pseudomonas, Streptococcus, Prevotella, Fusobacteria, Veillonella, Haemophilus, Neisseria and Porphyromonas (Charlson et al, <NUM>). Among asthmatics an increased frequency of Proteobacteria (in particular Haemophilus, Moraxella and Neisseria) and Firmicutes (in particular Lactobacillus spp. ) and decreased frequency of Bacteroidetes (in particular Prevotella) compared with controls has been observed (Hilty et al. Similarly epidemiological data show that gut microbiota differs between asthmatic and non-asthmatic infants (Penders et al.

Defensins represent one of the dominant innate host defences that serve to maintain a healthy microbiome and ward off potential pathogens (Wehkamp et al, <NUM> and Salzman et al, <NUM>). Defensins are peptides possessing antimicrobial activity against Gram positive and negative bacteria, fungi and archaea as well as anti-inflammatory activity. Defensins, and in particular hBD2 have shown therapeutic potential in the treatment of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (<CIT>; <CIT>).

It has been shown (Shen et al. ) the the overexpression of ß-defensin <NUM> mediated by a lentiviral vector in rats protected lungs from infection of Pseudomonas aeruginosa by affecting cytokine expression and reduced inflammation induced by Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

In conclusion, there is a need for new treatments of subjects suffering from inflammatory conditions of the lung. There is a particular need for treatments that can be administered through the airways for patients that can themselves administer, e.g. inhale, the drugs, and there is a need for treatment via other administration routes to patients that are unable to inhale drugs efficiently.

The inventors have surprisingly demonstrated that mammalian defensins have the ability to reduce airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR) and increase airway compliance (Cdyn); reduce lung inflammation; reduce neutrophil -, eosinophil - and macrophage count in bronchio-alveolar-lavage-fluid (BALF) as well as decrease IFN-γ, TNF-α, IL-<NUM>, IL-<NUM>, IL-<NUM>, IL-<NUM>, IL-<NUM>, IL-<NUM> and IL-<NUM> in lung cells. The inventors have also demonstrated efficacy in reduction of histological inflammation parameters in an asthma model, for example a reduction in perivascular inflammation and peribronchial inflammation.

The data indicate that administration of mammalian defensins results in normalization or reduction of the cardinal characteristics of asthma, and COPD and therefore are useful in treatment or prevention of inflammatory conditions of the lung including asthma, mild intermittent asthma, mild persistent asthma, moderate persistent asthma, severe persistent asthma, eosinophilic asthma, neutrophilic asthma, steroid refractory asthma, status asthmaticus, bronchiectasis, and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD).

Surprisingly it has been demonstrated in a mouse model of house dust mite allergy that oral and intranasal administration of defensins are equally efficacious at least for some of the parameters tested. This opens possibilities for treatment of inflammatory lung conditions by oral administration to subjects that have difficulty inhaling drugs. As demonstrated in the examples, a dosage of human beta-defensin <NUM> (hBD-<NUM>) is capable of reducing AHR, increasing Cdyn, reducing histological lung inflammation, inflammatory cell count in BALF and inflammatory cytokine production in a steroid-insensitive murine model, where mice are sensitized to ovalbumin (OVA) and infected with C. muridarum and in a steroid-sensitive murine model, where mice are immunized by house dust mite (HDM) + Freund's adjuvant and challenged with HDM. Without hBD-<NUM> treatment, animals develop asthma characterized by dramatically increased AHR, decreased Cdyn, inflammatory histological changes of the lung tissue, increased white blood cell count, in particular neutrophils, eosinophils and macrophages and increased concentration of inflammatory cytokines.

The inventors have demonstrated experimentally that defensins rebalance the immune system by completely normalizing cytokine levels thus preventing a cytokine storm contrary to current asthma treatment with e.g. interleukin antibodies, that knocks out a given cytokine or general immune suppression, which results in general suppression of the innate immune system. Therefore defensins represent a promising alternative to current treatments.

The inventors have further demonstrated that defensins are capable of exerting their effect in the lungs not only when administered directly into the lung but more importantly and surprisingly, when administered solely orally into the gut.

Oral administration in the treatment of an asthma attack as well as for maintenance treatment will facilitate the life of asthmatics across the world.

The references to methods of treatment in this description are to be interpreted as references to the compounds, pharmaceutical compositions and medicaments of the present invention for use in a method for the treatment of the human (or animal) body by therapy.

In one aspect there is provided a method for treatment and/or prevention of a disease selected from the group consisting of asthma, such as mild intermittent asthma, mild persistent asthma, moderate persistent asthma, severe persistent asthma, eosinophilic asthma, neutrophilic asthma, steroid refractory asthma, status asthmaticus, bronchiectasis, COPD, and emphysema, said method comprising administration of a defensin selected from the group consisting of: hBD-<NUM> (SEQ ID NO: <NUM>) truncated hBD-<NUM> (SEQ ID NO: <NUM>) or a functionally equivalent variant thereof differing in <NUM> to <NUM> amino acids compared to hBD-<NUM> (SEQ ID NO. : <NUM>) or truncated hBD-<NUM> (SEQ ID NO. : <NUM>), the method comprising oral or intrapulmonary administration of said defensin.

The effects may be mediated by reducing histological lung inflammation, inflammatory cell count in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid, rebalancing the immune system with normalization of inflammatory cytokine production in lung tissue homogenates and prevention/treatment of a cytokine storm.

In another aspect the therapeutic effects include increasing pulmonary compliance, reducing airway hyper responsivenes, and/or increasing the peak expiratory flow in a.

Other effects indlude increasing forced expiratory volume at <NUM> second (FEV1) and/or peak expiratory flow rate PEFR, or reducing PEFR variability.

By administering at least one defensin to a subject, gene richness, the number of phylae can be increased, butyrate and/or tryptophan production can be increased and acetate production from lung microbiota can be decreased in a subject in need thereof.

The medical uses may result in maintaining and/or stabilizing a normal microbiota in the lung, increasing the presence and abundance of key commensal bacteria and short chain fatty acid and/or butyrate and/or tryptophan producers.

Schematic outline of the experimental setup for investigating the effects of mammalian β-defensins in a murine steroid-insensitive model of asthma, where the mice are sensitized by Ovalbumin and infected with C. muridarum (Essilfie et al. Schematic outline of the experimental set up for investigating the effects of mammalian β-defensins in a murine steroid-sensitive model of asthma, where the mice are immunized by house dust mite (HDM) + Freund's adjuvant and challenged with HDM. Clustal W (<NUM>) multiple sequence alignment of human beta defensin <NUM>-<NUM>:
In the Clustal W alignments:.

Clustal alignment of HD5 and HD6. <FIG>: Airway hyper-responsiveness in the Ovalbumin/C. muridarum murine steroid-insensitive asthma model following intranasal administration of hBD-<NUM>. Y-axis shows Rn - airway-specific resistance units (tidal volume of <NUM>/kg at a respiratory rate of <NUM> breaths/minute). **** indicates statistically significant differences using Mann Whitney test with a p-value of p<<NUM>
<FIG>: Airway hyper responsiveness in the House Dust Mite murine steroid-sensitive asthma model following intranasal (<FIG>) and oral (<FIG>) administration of hBD-<NUM> respectively. Saline is the non-challenged control. HDM/Vehicle is the House Dust Mite challenged control treated with vehicle. "hBD2 IN <NUM> mpk" is hBD2 administered intranasally at <NUM>/kg. 5mpk is <NUM>/kg. Legend, <FIG>: • - Vehicle IN; ▪ - hBD2 IN <NUM> mpk; ▲ - saline; ◆ - hBD2 IN <NUM> mpk. Legend, <FIG>: • - HDM/Vehicle IN; ▪ - saline; ▲ - HDM/dexamethasone; ◆ - HDM/hBD2 <NUM>/kg p. <FIG>: Pulmonary compliance in the House Dust Mite murine steroid-sensitive asthma model following intranasal (<FIG>) and oral (<FIG>) administration of hBD-<NUM> respectively.

Legend, <FIG>: • - Vehicle IN; ▪ - hBD2 IN <NUM> mpk; ▲ - saline; ◆ - hBD2 IN <NUM> mpk. Legend, <FIG>: • - HDM/Vehicle IN; ▪ - saline; ▲ - HDM/dexamethasone; ◆ - HDM/hBD2 <NUM>/kg p. Total and differential cell count in BALF in the Ovalbumin/C. muridarum murine steroid-insensitive asthma model following intranasal administration of hBD-<NUM>. Figure legend:.

<FIG> and <FIG>: Total and differential cell count in BALF in the House Dust Mite murine steroid-sensitive asthma model following intranasal and oral administration of hBD-<NUM> respectively. <FIG> represent the animals treated peroral hBD2. <FIG> represent results from animals receiving intranasal hBD2. Results are shown as mean +/- SEM. *p<<NUM> vs vehicle, unpaired test. Figure legend. Saline IN is the unchallenged and untreated control. HDM/Vehicle represent the untreated but HDM challenged animals. HDM are the animals challenged with house dust mites. PO is peroral administration and IN is intranasal administration. Columns labelled * are statistically significantly different from the vehicle treated control. Cytokine concentrations of IFN-γ (<FIG>), TNF-α (<FIG>), IL-1β (<FIG>), IL-<NUM> (<FIG>), IL-<NUM> (<FIG>), IL-<NUM> (<FIG>), IL-<NUM> (<FIG>), IL-<NUM> (<FIG>), IL-<NUM> (<FIG>) and IL-<NUM> (<FIG>) in the House Dust Mite murine steroid-sensitive asthma model following intranasal and oral administration of hBD-<NUM> respectively. Each figure has data from the intranasal arm on the left and the peroral arm on the right. Results are shown in pg/mL as the mean +/- SEM. *p<<NUM> vs. vehicle, Mann Whitney test. Lung histology with H&E/PAS preparation in the House Dust Mite murine steroid-sensitive asthma model following intranasal and oral administration of hBD-<NUM> respectively. Upper left panel: untreated and unchallenged control. Upper right panel: untreated and HDM challenged control. Lower left panel: HDM challenged treated with hBD2 PO. Lower right panel: HDM challenged treated with hBD2 IN. 50X enlargement. Lung inflammation severity in the House Dust Mite murine steroid-sensitive asthma model following intranasal and oral administration of hBD-<NUM> respectively.

Perivascular and peribronchial inflammation in the House Dust Mite murine steroid-sensitive asthma model following intranasal and oral administration of hBD-<NUM> respectively. ◆ eosinophils; □ monocytes.

Pharmacokinetic data following oral administration of <NUM>/kg hBD-<NUM> to female NMRI mice. The Y-axis shows hBD2 in µg/g tissue. The results are given as group mean +/-SEM. <FIG> (for illustration). Pharmacokinetic data for hBD-<NUM> following subcutaneous and intravenous administration of <NUM>/kg respectively. The Y-axis shows hBD2 in µg/mL. The different curves represent different experiments and detection methods (HPLC and ELISA). <FIG> (for illustration). Pharmacokinetic data for "hBD-<NUM>-albumin fusion N-terminal" following subcutaneous and intravenous administration of <NUM>/kg respectively. The Y-axis shows the concentration of the fusion protein in µg/mL. The results are the mean of <NUM> mice/sampling time +/- SD. <FIG> (for illustration). Pharmacokinetic data for "hBD-<NUM>-albumin fusion C-terminal" following subcutaneous and intravenous administration of <NUM>/kg respectively. The Y-axis shows the concentration of the fusion protein in µg/mL. The results are the mean of <NUM> mice/sampling time +/- SD. <FIG> (for illustration). Disease Activity Index score progression during the study with IV administration of "hBD-<NUM>-albumin fusion C-terminal". Results are shown as the mean +/- the standard error of the mean for <NUM>-<NUM> animals per group. Significant differences from control (vehicle) group values at a given date are shown as *P<<NUM>; **P<<NUM>; *** P<<NUM> (Kruskal-Wallis test for non-parametric data. Albucult® is a recombinant albumin available from NovoZymes A/S. Where no compound is mentioned in the graph, the compound is hBD2-albumin fusion C-terminal. <FIG> (for illustration). Histological score proximal colon of "hBD-<NUM>-albumin fusion C-terminal". Histological score of proximal colon samples. Results are shown as the mean ± the standard error of the mean for n=<NUM>-<NUM> animals per group. Significant differences from control (vehicle) group values at a given date are shown as ***P<<NUM>,<NUM>; *P<<NUM>,<NUM> (Kruskal-Wallis Test + post -test of Dunn for non-parametric data). Albucult® is a recombinant albumin available from NovoZymes A/S. Where no compound is mentioned in the graph, the compound is hBD2-albumin fusion C-terminal. Schematic outline of the experimental set up for investigating the effects of mammalian defensins in a murine steroid-sensitive model for prevention of asthma, where the mice are immunized by house dust mite (HDM) + Freund's adjuvant and challenged with HDM. <FIG>: Airway hyper responsiveness in the murine House Dust Mite steroid-sensitive asthma model following prophylactic intranasal and oral administration of hBD-<NUM> respectively. <FIG>: Pulmonary compliance in the murine House Dust Mite steroid-sensitive asthma model following prophylactic intranasal and oral administration of hBD-<NUM> respectively. <FIG>: Neutrophil cell count in BALF in the House Dust Mite murine steroid-sensitive asthma model following prophylactic oral administration of hBD-<NUM>. *p<<NUM> vs vehicle, Mann Whitney test. Cytokine concentrations (pg/mL) of TNF-α (<FIG>), IL-<NUM> (<FIG>), IL-<NUM> (<FIG>), IL-<NUM> (<FIG>), IL-<NUM> (<FIG>) and IL-<NUM> (<FIG>) in lung homogenate in the House Dust Mite murine steroid-sensitive asthma model following prophylactic oral administration of hBD-<NUM>. Results are shown as the mean +/- SEM. *p<<NUM> vs vehicle, Mann Whitney test. Schematic outline of the experimental setup for investigating the effects of mammalian defensins (HD5, hBD2 and HD5+hBD2) on the composition of the microbiota in a high fat diet murine model. Genus analysis of microbial abundance following prophylactic treatment with oral HD5, hBD2 and HD5+hBD2 in a murine high fat diet model. Abundance of Allobaculum in the small intestine following prophylactic treatment with oral HD5 and hBD2 in a murine high fat diet model. Abundance of Lactobacillaceae in colon following prophylactic treatment with oral hBD2 in a murine high fat model. Relative abundance of Barnesiella in colon following <NUM> (left panel) and <NUM> weeks (right panel) of prophylactic treatment with oral hBD2 in a murine high fat diet model. Relative abundance of Alloprevotella in colon following therapeutic intervention with oral HD5 and hBD2 in a murine high fat diet model. Relative abundance of Bifidobacteriaceae in the small intestine (left panel) and colon (right panel) following therapeutic intervention with HD5 or hBD2 in a murine high fat diet model.

Defensin: The term "defensin" as used herein refers to polypeptides belonging to the defensin class of antimicrobial peptides. Defensins represent one of the dominant innate host defences that serve to maintain a healthy microbiome and ward off potential pathogens (Wehkamp et al. , <NUM> and Salzman et al. Defensins are peptides possessing antimicrobial activity against Gram positive and negative bacteria, fungi and archaea as well as exerting anti-inflammatory activity.

Human defensins are small cationic peptides divided into α- and β-defensins based on the topology of their three intramolecular cysteine disulphide bonds. α-defensins can be further subdivided into those expressed in neutrophil granules (HNP1-<NUM>) and those expressed by Paneth cells in the crypts of the small intestine (HD5 and HD6 or DEFA5 and DEFA6). β-defensins (DEFBn) are mainly produced by epithelial cells in various tissues and organs including the skin, eye, middle ear, mouth, trachea, lungs, gastrointestinal tract, urogenital system, kidneys, vagina, liver, pancreas and mammary glands. Examples of defensins include human intestinal alpha defensin <NUM> (HD5; SEQ ID NO: <NUM>); human intestinal alpha defensin <NUM> (HD6; SEQ ID NO: <NUM>); human neutrophil peptide <NUM> (HNP-<NUM>); human neutrophil peptide <NUM> (HNP-<NUM>); human neutrophil peptide <NUM> (HNP-<NUM>), all belonging to the alfa defensin class; and also human beta defensin <NUM> (hBD1; SEQ ID NO: <NUM>); human beta defensin <NUM> (hBD2; SEQ ID NO: <NUM>); human beta defensin <NUM> (hBD3; SEQ ID NO: <NUM>); human beta defensin <NUM> (hBD4; SEQ ID NO: <NUM>); and truncated human beta defensin <NUM> (SEQ ID NO:<NUM>). <CIT> documents that truncated hBD2 and non-truncated hBD2 have the same bioactivity.

Defensins are expressed as precursors and are processed by cleavage of the signal peptide and in some cases pro-peptides as well before secretion into the extracellular space. The best characterized members of the human β-defensin family are hBD1-<NUM>. Some of the human defensins e.g. hBD-<NUM> are produced constitutively, whereas others e.g. hBD-<NUM>, hBD-<NUM> and hBD-<NUM> are induced by pro-inflammatory cytokines or exogenous microbial products. The above-identified sequences represent the predicted mature bioactive defensins. It will be understood by one of skill in the art that processing may differ from cell to cell and that the resulting secreted mature peptide may differ by one or two C- or N-terminal amino acids from the predicted sequences and still retain bioactivity.

Identity: The relatedness between two amino acid sequences or between two nucleotide sequences is described by the parameter "identity". The degree of identity between two amino acid sequences is determined using the Needleman-Wunsch algorithm (<NPL>) as implemented in the Needle program of the EMBOSS package (Rice et al. ,<NUM>, http://emboss. org), preferably version <NUM>. <NUM> or later. The optional parameters used are gap open penalty of <NUM>, gap extension penalty of <NUM>, and the EBLOSUM62 (EMBOSS version of BLOSUM62) substitution matrix. The output of Needle labeled "longest identity" (obtained using the -nobrief option) is used as the percent identity and is calculated as follows: (Identical Residues x <NUM>)/(Length of Alignment - Total Number of Gaps in Alignment).

Normal microbiota: The term "normal microbiota" is used herein to indicate a microbiota that is not dysbiotic. Normal microbiota is characterized by having large gene richness. Normal intestinal microbiota is characterized by comprising bacteria belonging to the genera Bacteriodetes, Faecalibacterium, Roseburia, Blautia, Ruminococcus, Coprococcus, Bifidobacterium, Methanobrevibacter, Lactobacillus, Coprococcus, Clostridium, Akkermansia, Eubacterium.

Normal lung microbiota is characterized by comprising bacteria belonging to the genera Bacteroidetes, Firmicutes, and Proteobacteria with the core microbiota consisting of Pseudomonas, Streptococcus, Prevotella, Fusobacteria, Veillonella, Haemophilus, Neisseria and Porphyromonas.

Treatment: The terms "treatment" and "treating" as used herein refer to the management and care of a patient for the purpose of combating a condition, disease or disorder. The term is intended to include the full spectrum of treatments for a given condition from which the patient is suffering, such as administration of the active compound for the purpose of: alleviating or relieving symptoms or complications; delaying the progression of the condition, disease or disorder; curing or eliminating the condition, disease or disorder; and/or preventing the condition, disease or disorder, wherein "preventing" or "prevention" is to be understood to refer to the management and care of a patient for the purpose of hindering, reducing the active compounds to prevent or reduce the risk of the onset of symptoms or complications. The patient to be treated is preferably a mammalian, in particular a human being. The patients to be treated can be of various ages.

Patient: A patient is a subject, which has been diagnosed with a particular disorder such as an inflammatory disorder of the lungs or suffers from particular symptoms indicative of a disorder, such as an inflammatory disorder of the lungs.

This disclosure relates to a defensin selected from the group consisting of: hBD-<NUM> (SEQ ID NO: <NUM>) truncated hBD-<NUM> (SEQ ID NO: <NUM>) or a functionally equivalent variant thereof differing in <NUM> to <NUM> amino acids compared to hBD-<NUM> (SEQ ID NO. : <NUM>) or truncated hBD-<NUM> (SEQ ID NO. for use in the treatment of asthma, mild intermittent asthma, mild persistent asthma, moderate persistent asthma, severe persistent asthma, eosinophilic asthma, neutrophilic asthma, steroid refractory asthma, status asthmaticus, bronchiectasis and COPD, wherein the defensin is administered by oral or intrapulmonary administration.

In another embodiment, a defensin differs from one of the SEQ ID NO: <NUM> or <NUM> by less than <NUM>, such as less than <NUM>, for example less than <NUM>, such as less than <NUM> amino acids. In a preferred embodiment, the mammalian beta defensins consist of human beta defensin <NUM> (SEQ ID NO: <NUM>), or truncated human beta defensin <NUM> (SEQ ID NO:<NUM>).

In a preferred embodiment, the human beta defensins consists of human beta defensin <NUM> (SEQ ID NO: <NUM>) or truncated human beta defensin <NUM> (SEQ ID NO:<NUM>).

More preferably, the mammalian beta defensins consist of human beta defensin <NUM>, and functionally equivalent variants or orthologues thereof differing in <NUM> to <NUM> amino acids compared to hBD-<NUM> (SEQ ID NO. : <NUM>) or truncated hBD-<NUM> (SEQ ID NO.

In one embodiment, the methods for treatment and/or prevention of asthma, bronchiectasis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD) or emphysema comprise oral or intrapulmonary administration of an effective amount of at least one defensin selected from the group consisting of: hBD-<NUM> (SEQ ID NO: <NUM>) truncated hBD-<NUM> (SEQ ID NO: <NUM>) or a functionally equivalent variant thereof differing in <NUM> to <NUM> amino acids compared to hBD-<NUM> (SEQ ID NO. : <NUM>) or truncated hBD-<NUM> (SEQ ID NO. : <NUM>)to a subject in need of such treatment.

A "functionally equivalent variant" of a mammalian (e.g. human) alfa or beta defensin is a modified mammalian (e.g. human) alfa or beta defensin exhibiting approximatively the same effect on microbiota in the lung or the intestine as the parent mammalian (e.g. human) alfa and/or beta defensins. A functionally equivalent variant of a mammalian (e.g. human) defensin may comprise <NUM>-<NUM> amino acid modifications, more preferably <NUM>-<NUM> amino acid modifications, most preferably <NUM>-<NUM> amino acid modification(s), and in particular one amino acid modification, as compared to human beta defensin <NUM>, having SEQ ID NO <NUM> or truncated human beta defensin <NUM> (SEQ ID NO:<NUM>).

The term "modification" means herein any chemical modification of a mammalian (e.g. human) defensin. The modification(s) can be substitution(s), deletion(s) and/or insertions(s) of the amino acid(s) as well as replacement(s) of amino acid side chain(s); or use of unnatural amino acids with similar characteristics in the amino acid sequence. In particular the modification(s) can be amidations, such as amidation of the C-terminus. Preferably, amino acid modifications are of a minor nature, that is conservative amino acid substitutions or insertions that do not significantly affect the folding and/or activity of the polypeptide; single deletions; small amino- or carboxyl-terminal extensions; or a small extension that facilitates purification by changing net charge or another function, such as a poly-histidine tag, an antigenic epitope or a binding domain. In one embodiment the small extension, such as a poly-histidine tag, an antigenic epitope or a binding domain is attached to the defensin for use according to claim <NUM> through a small linker peptide of up to about <NUM>-<NUM> residues and said linker may contain a restriction enzyme cleavage site.

The Clustal W alignments in <FIG> can be used to predict which amino acid residues can be substituted without substantially affecting the biological activity of the protein. The sequences were aligned using Clustal W <NUM> (hftp://www. jp/tools/clustalw/) and the following settings: Gap Open Penalty:<NUM>, Gap Extension Penalty: <NUM>,<NUM>, Weight Transition: NO, Hydrophilic Residues for Proteins:GPSNDQE, Hydrophilic Gaps: YES, Weight Matrix: BLOSUM (for PROTEIN). Substitutions within the following group (Clustal W, 'strong' conservation group) are to be regarded as conservative substitutions:.

Examples of conservative substitutions are substitutions made within the group of basic amino acids (arginine, lysine and histidine), acidic amino acids (glutamic acid and aspartic acid), polar amino acids (glutamine and asparagine), hydrophobic amino acids (leucine, isoleucine and valine), aromatic amino acids (phenylalanine, tryptophan and tyrosine), and small amino acids (glycine, alanine, serine, threonine and methionine). Amino acid substitutions which do not generally alter specific activity are known in the art and are described, for example, by Neurath and Hill (<NUM>). The most commonly occurring exchanges are Ala/Ser, Val/Ile, Asp/Glu, Thr/Ser, Ala/Gly, Ala/Thr, Ser/Asn, Ala/Val, Ser/Gly, Tyr/Phe, Ala/Pro, Lys/Arg, Asp/Asn, Leu/Ile, Leu/Val, Ala/Glu, and Asp/Gly.

In addition to the <NUM> standard amino acids, non-standard amino acids (such as <NUM>-hydroxyproline, <NUM>-N-methyl lysine, <NUM>-aminoisobutyric acid, isovaline, and alpha-methyl serine) may be substituted for amino acid residues of a wild-type polypeptide. A limited number of non-conservative amino acids, amino acids that are not encoded by the genetic code, and unnatural amino acids may be substituted for amino acid residues. "Unnatural amino acids" have been modified after protein synthesis, and/or have a chemical structure in their side chain(s) different from that of the standard amino acids. Unnatural amino acids can be chemically synthesized, and preferably, are commercially available, and include pipecolic acid, thiazolidine carboxylic acid, dehydroproline, <NUM>- and <NUM>-methylproline, and <NUM>,<NUM>-dimethylproline.

Essential amino acids in a mammalian alfa and/or beta defensin can be identified according to procedures known in the art, such as site-directed mutagenesis or alanine-scanning mutagenesis (<NPL>). In the latter technique, single alanine mutations are introduced at every residue in the molecule, and the resultant mutant molecules are tested for biological activity (i.e., activity against an airway hyper responsiveness or suppression cytokines e.g. TNF-alpha activity) to identify amino acid residues that are critical to the activity of the molecule. See also,<NPL>. The identities of essential amino acids can also be inferred from analysis of identities with polypeptides which are related to mammalian alfa and/or beta defensins (see Clustal W alignment in <FIG>).

Single or multiple amino acid substitutions can be made and tested using known methods of mutagenesis, recombination, and/or shuffling, followed by a relevant screening procedure, such as those disclosed by<NPL>; <NPL>; <CIT>; or <CIT>. Other methods that can be used include error-prone PCR, phage display (e.g., <NPL>; <CIT>; <CIT>), and region-directed mutagenesis (<NPL>; <NPL>). When the result of a given substitution cannot be predicted with certainty, the derivatives may be readily assayed according to the methods described herein above to determine the presence or absence of biological activity.

The half-life of a defensin for use according to claim <NUM> may be extended by fusing or conjugating the β-defensin with another moiety or molecule i.e. constructing a long acting biologically active β-defensin linked to a pharmaceutically acceptable molecule providing an in vivo plasma half-life of the β-defensin, which is increased substantially compared to the in vivo plasma half-life of the un-conjugated β-defensin administered in the same manner as the conjugated β-defensin.

A long acting biologically active defensin for use according to claim <NUM> may be linked to a pharmaceutically acceptable molecule selected from a molecule having binding to neonatal Fc receptor (FcRn), transferrin, albumin (HAS), XTEN® or PEG, a homo-amino acid polymer (HAP), a proline-alanine-serine polymer (PAS), or an elastin-like peptide (ELP), hyaluronic acid, a negatively charged highly siasylated peptide such as the carboxy-terminal peptide (CTP) of chorionic gonadotropin (CG) β-chain, human IgG, and CH3(CH2)nCO- wherein n is <NUM> to <NUM>.

The defensins for use according to claim <NUM> may be linked to the pharmaceutically acceptable molecule in various ways as described in the prior art literature, such as without limitation chemical coupling through a bifunctional linker, by coupling the N-terminal or C-terminal of the defensins for use according to claim 1to the pharmaceutically acceptable molecule, such as albumin or albumin analog. In particular, the N-terminal of albumin or an albumin analogue, e.g. human albumin, can be coupled to the C-terminal of a defensin for use according to claim <NUM>, or the N-terminal of a defensin of claim <NUM>; or the C-terminal of albumin, e.g. human albumin, can be coupled to the C-terminal of a defensin for use according to claim <NUM>, or the N-terminal of a defensin for use according to claim <NUM>. A linker sequence can be inserted between the albumin and defensin for use according to claim <NUM>.

The defensin for use according to claim <NUM> may be linked to the pharmaceutically acceptable molecule through a stable linker or a more labile linker. Several linkers are known in the art, including bifunctional PEG molecules (e.g. see <NPL>), hydrolysable linkers (<NPL> and <NPL> and <CIT>), PDPH and EMCH see e.g. in <CIT>. In the special case where chemical conjugation (linking of two or more molecules) of the defensin for use according to claim <NUM>, to the pharmaceutically acceptable molecule, strongly reduce the functional defensin activity, it may be preferable to use a more labile linker that can release the functional defensin for use according to claim <NUM>.

Half-life extension may also be accomplished through acylation of the peptide backbone with a spacer e.g. γ-L-glutamyl spacer and a C-<NUM> fatty di-acid chain to Lysine. The fatty di-acid site chain and the spacer mediate a strong but reversible binding to albumin, slowing release from the injection site and reducing renal clearance.

Human beta defensin <NUM> is found to be able to reduce airway hyper responsiveness; increase pulmonary compliance; reduce lung inflammation; reduce BALF neutrophil -, eosinophil - and macrophage count as well as rebalance the immune system with normalization of IFN-γ, TNF-α, IL-<NUM>, IL-<NUM>, IL-<NUM>, IL-<NUM>, IL-<NUM>, IL-<NUM> and IL-<NUM> concentrations preventing a cytokine storm; thus showing potent activity as a medicament for prevention or treatment of inflammatory conditions of the lungs, such as asthma and COPD.

Surprisingly it has been found that oral administration of defensins is effective to treat inflammatory conditions of the lung. This is unexpected, as it is known that hBD2 is not absorbed from the gut, as demonstrated in example <NUM> of the current disclosure. An advantage of this observation is that patients with compromised breathing capacity can take their defensin medicament orally. It is also expected that severely ill patients such as patients in medical ventilators and status asthmaticus patients can be treated by parenteral administration of at least one defensin.

Preferably the administration is oral. Oral administration is advantageous for patients with compromised breathing or patients undergoing medical ventilation.

In another aspect there is provided methods for treatment of asthma, such as mild intermittent asthma, mild persistent asthma, moderate persistent asthma, severe persistent asthma, eosinophilic asthma, neutrophilic asthma, steroid refractory asthma, status asthmaticus, , bronchiectasis orCOPD, by administering an effective amount of a defensin selected from the group consisting of: hBD-<NUM> (SEQ ID NO: <NUM>) truncated hBD-<NUM> (SEQ ID NO: <NUM>) or a functionally equivalent variant thereof differing in <NUM> to <NUM> amino acids compared to hBD-<NUM> (SEQ ID NO. : <NUM>) or truncated hBD-<NUM> (SEQ ID NO. : <NUM>) to a subject in need of such treatmentby intrapulmonary administration, or oraladministration.

The provided methods can treat or prevent asthma, bronchiectasis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD) or emphysema by reducing migration of white blood cells e.g. neutrophils, eosinophils and macrophages in BALF. Administration of hBD2 has proven to be effective in reducing in particular neutrophils and macrophages in BALF. The uses according to claim <NUM> may also rebalance the immune system, normalizing cytokine production of e.g. IFN-γ, TNF-α, IL-<NUM>, IL-<NUM>, IL-<NUM>, IL-<NUM>, IL-<NUM>, IL-<NUM>, and IL-<NUM> in lung tissue homogenate thus preventing or treating a cytokine storm in a subject affected by one of the conditions of claim <NUM> as described herein. Preferably, the uses results in reduced cytokine production wherein the cytokine is IFN-γ, TNF-α, IL-<NUM>, IL-<NUM>, IL-<NUM>, IL-<NUM>, IL-<NUM>, or IL-<NUM>. In particular the methods may reduce the amount of IFN-γ, TNF-α, IL-<NUM>, IL-<NUM>, IL-<NUM> and IL-<NUM>. The amount of cytokines can be determined in a lung biopsy or in BALF.

Further the uses according to claim <NUM> may reduce airway hyperresponsiveness and increase pulmonary compliance in a subject affected by one of asthma, bronchiectasis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD) or emphysema as described herein. The provided uses according to claim <NUM> can treat or prevent lung inflammation by changing bacterial phenotypes through a change at the transcriptional level as well as structure and composition of the lung bacterial flora or the lung metabolome of a subject affected by one of the said conditions as described herein.

Without being bound by theory the effects observed using oral administration may be ascribed to a change in the gut microflora and gut metabolome that may have an effect on the lungs through the so-called gut-lung axis.

Chronic lung disorders such as asthma, COPD and cystic fibrosis all exhibit a component of intestinal disease manifestation indicating that there is a vital cross talk between these two mucosal sites of the human body and a variety of respiratory diseases have been associated with a dysbiosis not only of the airway microbiota but also the intestinal microbiota (Marsland et al, <NUM>). Caesarian birth reduces the diversity and alters the composition of the intestinal microbiota early in life and is at the same time linked to a predisposition toward asthma during childhood (Jakobsson et al, <NUM>). Early life exposure to environmental microorganisms has been found to be protective against asthma (Ege et al, <NUM>) whereas early life as well as prenatal antibiotic exposure increases the risk of allergic asthma (Marra et al <NUM>). The inverse relationship between childhood infections and the development of asthma and allergies has been recognized for years, giving rise to the "hygiene hypothesis"; that a decrease in infectious exposures early in life results in deranged tolerance and increased autoimmune pathology (Wills-Karp et al, <NUM>). A complementary hypothesis is that perturbations in gastrointestinal microbiota composition due to antibiotic use and poor diet (low fiber, high sugar) in westernized areas have disrupted gastrointestinal microbiome-mediated mechanisms of mucosal tolerance.

Commensal microbes calibrate innate and adaptive immune responses and impact activation thresholds for pathogenic stimulations, in large part by producing small molecules that mediate host-microbial interactions (Donia and Fishback, <NUM>). While the epithelial barrier ensures that microorganisms are largely confined to the gut, microbial metabolites can penetrate the epithelial barrier, allowing them to enter and accumulate in the host circulatory system where they are sensed by immune cells (Dorrestein et al, <NUM>). Trompette et al <NUM> demonstrated in mice that fermentable fibers in the diet changed the composition not only of the gut but also the lung microbiota in particular the ratio of Firmicutes to Bacteriodetes, the latter leading to increased local and systemic levels of Short Chain Fatty Acids, which in turn influenced Dendritic Cell hematopoiesis and functionality thus shaping the immunological environment in the lung and influencing the severity of allergic inflammation. Schirmer et al further demonstrated in the Human Functional Genomics Project that inter-individual variation in cytokine response is linked to specific microbial organisms as well as microbial functions. The majority of detected associations were both cytokine and stimulus specific, suggesting that the immune system recognizes and interacts with microbial organisms and products with high specificity and that these microbial factors are associated with a particular immunological phenotype. TNF-α and IFN-γ production capacity appeared to be more strongly influenced by the microbiome, whereas other cytokines such as IL-1β, IL-<NUM> and Th17 derived IL-<NUM> and IL-<NUM> exhibited fewer, but more specific, associations with the gut microbiota.

A further aspect provides methods for prevention or treatment of asthma, such as mild intermittent asthma, mild persistent asthma, moderate persistent asthma, severe persistent asthma, eosinophilic asthma, neutrophilic asthma, steroid refractory asthma, status asthmaticus, bronchiectasis, COPD by administering an effective amount of a defensin selected from the group consisting of: hBD-<NUM> (SEQ ID NO: <NUM>) truncated hBD-<NUM> (SEQ ID NO: <NUM>) or a functionally equivalent variant thereof differing in <NUM> to <NUM> amino acids compared to hBD-<NUM> (SEQ ID NO. : <NUM>) or truncated hBD-<NUM> (SEQ ID NO. : <NUM>) to a subject in need of such treatment, the method comprising oral or intrapulmonary administration of said defensin. In a preferred embodiment the asthma is steroid refractory asthma. In one embodiment, the administration is oral, buccal, sublingual, intratracheal, intrapulmonary, or intranasal. Preferably the administration is oral or intrapulmonary. Oral administration may be advantageous for patients with compromised breathing or undergoing medical ventilation.

The methods of treatment described herein can be treated by administration of a composition comprising at least a defensin selected from the group consisting of: hBD-<NUM> (SEQ ID NO: <NUM>) truncated hBD-<NUM> (SEQ ID NO: <NUM>) or a functionally equivalent variant thereof differing in <NUM> to <NUM> amino acids compared to hBD-<NUM> (SEQ ID NO. : <NUM>) or truncated hBD-<NUM> (SEQ ID NO. : <NUM>) in combination with either glucocorticoids, β-agonists, leukotriene receptor antagonists, theophylline, antibiotics, rifaximin, chemo- or immunotherapy, immunosuppressants, prebiotics, probiotics, tryptophane, short chain fatty acids, HNP-<NUM>, HNP-<NUM>, HNP-<NUM>, HNP-<NUM>, cathelicidin, lactoferrin, lactoferricin, lysozyme, faecal transplants or a combination of these. The defensins for use according to claim <NUM> can be used to alleviate one or more symptoms of antibiotics, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, immunotherapy, or immunosuppressive therapy. The defensins for use according to claim <NUM> can be administered separately or together with one or more of these therapies. The defensins for use according to claim <NUM> can also be administered together with other medicaments which can be used to treat asthma. Within the uses of claim <NUM>, the disclosed methods can be used for treatment, prevention or normalization of a dysbiotic microbiota/metabolome in the lung of a subject that has undertaken and/or is undertaking an antibiotic treatment or chemotherapy or immunotherapy or immunosuppressive therapy or radiation therapy, or another treatment that has negative effects on the lung or intestinal microbiota. Normalizing the lung microbiota may include stimulating the population of lung bacteria belonging to the genera Bacteroidetes, Firmicutes, and Proteobacteria with the core microbiota consisting of Pseudomonas, Streptococcus, Prevotella, Fusobacteria, Veillonella, Haemophilus, Neisseria and Porphyromonas.

Normalizing the lung microbiota may also involve changing the metabolome to one that produces relatively more tryptophane and/or butyrate and relatively less acetate.

The subject to be treated may have asthmatic symptoms < <NUM> times per week, such as daily symptoms, such as continuous symptoms.

The subject to be treated may have asthmatic attacks of varying intensity, such as attacks affecting activity, such as attacks limiting physical activity, and/or asthmatic symptoms at night > <NUM> times per month, such as > <NUM> times a week that may last for days, such as frequent night time symptoms.

In one embodiment the subject to be treated has a forced expiratory volume at <NUM> second (FEV1) < <NUM>%, such as a FEV1 of <NUM> - <NUM>%, such as a FEV1 < <NUM>% of the predicted value.

Furthermore, the subject may have a peak expiratory flow rate PEFR with a variability of > <NUM> %, such as PEFR variability of <NUM>-<NUM>%, such as a PEFR variability > <NUM>%, such as a PEFR variability > <NUM>%.

The subject in need of the treatment provided by the disclosed methods may present one or more of the following symptoms before treatment:.

In one embodiment, the treatment results in an improvement of at least one symptom so that a treated subject changes from severe persistent to moderate persistent, mild persistent, or mild intermittent. The treatment may result in an improvement of symptoms to that a treated subject changes from moderate persistent, to mild persistent, or mild intermittent, or from mild persistent to mild intermittent.

Defensins for use according to claim <NUM> may be prepared by in vitro synthesis, using conventional methods as known in the art. Various commercial synthetic apparatuses are available, for example automated synthesizers by Applied Biosystems Inc. , Beckman, etc. By using synthesizers, naturally occurring amino acids may be substituted with unnatural amino acids, particularly D-isomers (or D-forms) e.g. D-alanine and D-isoleucine, diastereoisomers, side chains having different lengths or functionalities, and the like. The particular sequence and the manner of preparation will be determined by convenience, economics, purity required, and the like. Chemical linking may be provided to various peptides or proteins comprising convenient functionalities for bonding, such as amino groups for amide or substituted amine formation, e.g. reductive amination, thiol groups for thioether or disulphide formation, carboxyl groups for amide formation, and the like. If desired, various groups may be introduced into the peptide during synthesis or during expression, which allow for linking to other molecules or to a surface. Thus cysteines can be used to make thioethers, histidines for linking to a metal ion complex, carboxyl groups for forming amides or esters, amino groups for forming amides, and the like.

The defensins for use according to claim <NUM>, may also be isolated and purified in accordance with conventional methods of recombinant synthesis. Recombinant synthesis may be performed using appropriate expression vectors and a eukaryotic or prokaryotic expression system. A solution may be prepared of the expression host and the media and the defensins present purified using HPLC, exclusion chromatography, gel electrophoresis, affinity chromatography, or other purification technique. Methods for recombinant expression of human beta defensin-<NUM> in E. coli are disclosed in <CIT>).

The mammalian alfa and beta defensins may also be induced by administration of the corresponding mRNA.

Defensins selected from the group consisting of: hBD-<NUM> (SEQ ID NO: <NUM>) truncated hBD-<NUM> (SEQ ID NO: <NUM>) or a functionally equivalent variant thereof differing in <NUM> to <NUM> amino acids compared to hBD-<NUM> (SEQ ID NO. : <NUM>) or truncated hBD-<NUM> (SEQ ID NO. : <NUM>), are preferably employed in pharmaceutical compositions for use in a method of treatment and/or prevention of as described in claim <NUM> in an amount for treatment of mild intermittent asthma, mild persistent asthma, moderate persistent asthma, severe persistent asthma, eosinophilic asthma, neutrophilic asthma, steroid refractory asthma, status asthmaticus, bronchiectasis, COPD, preferably with acceptable toxicity to the patient. Defensins selected from the group consisting of: hBD-<NUM> (SEQ ID NO: <NUM>) truncated hBD-<NUM> (SEQ ID NO: <NUM>) or a functionally equivalent variant thereof differing in <NUM> to <NUM> amino acids compared to hBD-<NUM> (SEQ ID NO. : <NUM>) or truncated hBD-<NUM> (SEQ ID NO. : <NUM>), may also be employed in pharmaceutical compositions for use in a method of treatment and/or prevention as described in claim <NUM> in an amount which is additionally effective to maintain a normal microbiota composition in the lung and/or the intestine or to treat or normalize a dysbiotic microbiota in the lung and/or the intestine, preferably with acceptable toxicity to the patient in need of the treatment.

For such treatments, the appropriate dosage will, of course, vary depending upon, for example, the chemical nature and the pharmacokinetic data of a compound used, the individual host, the mode of administration and the nature and severity of the conditions being treated.

However, in general, for satisfactory results in mammals, for example humans, an indicated daily dosage of a human alfa defensin is preferably from about <NUM> HD5 /kg body weight to about <NUM> HD5 /kg body weight, more preferably from about <NUM> HD5 /kg body weight to about <NUM> HD5 /kg body weight; such as <NUM> HD5 /kg body weight to <NUM> HD5 /kg body weight, more preferably from about <NUM> HD5 /kg body weight to about <NUM> HD5 /kg body weight, preferably from about <NUM> HD5 /kg body weight to about <NUM> HD5 /kg body weight, even more preferably <NUM> HD5 /kg body weight, for example, administered in divided doses up to one, two or three times a day.

In one embodiment an indicated daily dosage of a human beta defensin is preferably from about <NUM> hBD-<NUM> /kg body weight to about <NUM> hBD-<NUM> /kg body weight, more preferably from about <NUM> hBD-<NUM> /kg body weight to about <NUM> hBD-<NUM> /kg body weight; such as <NUM> hBD-<NUM> /kg body weight to <NUM> hBD-<NUM> /kg body weight, more preferably from about <NUM> hBD-<NUM> /kg body weight to about <NUM> hBD-<NUM> /kg body weight, preferably from about <NUM> hBD-<NUM> /kg body weight to about <NUM> hBD-<NUM> /kg body weight, even more preferably <NUM> hBD-<NUM> /kg body weight, for example, administered in divided doses up to one, two or three times a day.

When two different defensins are administered in one dosage, the dosage may comprise equal or approximately equal amounts of the two defensins determined on a weight basis or on a molar basis. The ratio may also differ so that the ratio of alpha defensin to beta-defensin varies from <NUM>:<NUM> to <NUM>:<NUM>, such as <NUM>:<NUM> to <NUM>:<NUM>, for example <NUM>:<NUM> to <NUM>:<NUM> determined on a weight or molar basis.

The defensin selected from the group consisting of: hBD-<NUM> (SEQ ID NO: <NUM>) truncated hBD-<NUM> (SEQ ID NO: <NUM>) or a functionally equivalent variant thereof differing in <NUM> to <NUM> amino acids compared to hBD-<NUM> (SEQ ID NO. : <NUM>) or truncated hBD-<NUM> (SEQ ID NO. : <NUM>) can be administered to mammals, for example humans, by similar modes of administration at similar dosages than conventionally used.

In one embodiment, methods are provided as described herein, wherein the daily dosage is between <NUM> and <NUM> defensin/kg, such as between <NUM> and <NUM> defensin/kg, such as between <NUM> and <NUM> defensin/kg, such as <NUM> defensin/kg per day.

In certain embodiments, the pharmaceutical compositions of preferred embodiments can include a mammalian alfa defensin and a defensin for use according to claim <NUM>, such as in an amount of about <NUM> or less to about <NUM> or more per unit dosage form, preferably from about <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, or <NUM> to about <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, or <NUM>, and more preferably from about <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, or <NUM> to about <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, or <NUM>. In certain embodiments, however, lower or higher dosages than those mentioned above may be preferred. Appropriate concentrations and dosages can be readily determined by one skilled in the art. In further embodiments, the optional alfa defensin and the beta defensins of claim <NUM> may be present in equal amounts on a molarity basis or on a mg/mL basis.

In one embodiment, the optional mammalian alfa and the beta defensin for use according to claim <NUM> is administered at least once daily, such as at least twice daily, for example at least <NUM> times daily or continuously.

In one embodiment, the optional mammalian alfa and the beta defensin of claim <NUM> is administered intrapulmonary by continuous mechanical ventilation in a patient on an external ventilator.

In one embodiment, the administration of at least a defensin selected from the group consisting of: hBD-<NUM> (SEQ ID NO: <NUM>) truncated hBD-<NUM> (SEQ ID NO: <NUM>) or a functionally equivalent variant thereof differing in <NUM> to <NUM> amino acids compared to hBD-<NUM> (SEQ ID NO. : <NUM>) or truncated hBD-<NUM> (SEQ ID NO. : <NUM>), according to the disclosed methods, is generally intranasal. Intranasal administration is normal for pulmonary drug delivery.

In one embodiment, the administration of at least a defensin selected from the group consisting of: hBD-<NUM> (SEQ ID NO: <NUM>) truncated hBD-<NUM> (SEQ ID NO: <NUM>) or a functionally equivalent variant thereof differing in <NUM> to <NUM> amino acids compared to hBD-<NUM> (SEQ ID NO. : <NUM>) or truncated hBD-<NUM> (SEQ ID NO. : <NUM>), according to the disclosed methods, is oral.

Within some embodiments, compositions, of preferred embodiments may be formulated as a lyophilizate, utilizing appropriate excipients that provide stability as a lyophilizate, and subsequently after rehydration. Pharmaceutical compositions containing a a defensin selected from the group consisting of: hBD-<NUM> (SEQ ID NO: <NUM>) truncated hBD-<NUM> (SEQ ID NO: <NUM>) or a functionally equivalent variant thereof differing in <NUM> to <NUM> amino acids compared to hBD-<NUM> (SEQ ID NO. : <NUM>) or truncated hBD-<NUM> (SEQ ID NO. : <NUM>), can be manufactured according to conventional methods, e.g., by mixing, granulating, coating, dissolving or lyophilizing processes. In a preferred embodiment, pharmaceutical compositions containing a defensin selected from the group consisting of: hBD-<NUM> (SEQ ID NO: <NUM>) truncated hBD-<NUM> (SEQ ID NO: <NUM>) or a functionally equivalent variant thereof differing in <NUM> to <NUM> amino acids compared to hBD-<NUM> (SEQ ID NO. : <NUM>) or truncated hBD-<NUM> (SEQ ID NO. : <NUM>) are formulated as a sterile and isotonic solution. Pharmaceutically acceptable carriers and/or diluents are familiar to those skilled in the art. For compositions formulated as liquid solutions, acceptable carriers and/or diluents include saline and sterile water should be included, and the composition may optionally include antioxidants, buffers, bacteriostats, and other common additives.

The defensin selected from the group consisting of: hBD-<NUM> (SEQ ID NO: <NUM>) truncated hBD-<NUM> (SEQ ID NO: <NUM>) or a functionally equivalent variant thereof differing in <NUM> to <NUM> amino acids compared to hBD-<NUM> (SEQ ID NO. : <NUM>) or truncated hBD-<NUM> (SEQ ID NO. : <NUM>)may be formulated in a wide variety of formulations for oral administration. Solid form preparations may include powders, tablets, drops, capsules, cachets, lozenges, and dispersible granules. Other forms suitable for oral administration may include liquid form preparations including emulsions, syrups, elixirs, aqueous solutions, aqueous suspensions, toothpaste, gel dentifrice, chewing gum, or solid form preparations which are intended to be converted shortly before use to liquid form preparations, such as solutions, suspensions, and emulsions.

The defensin selected from the group consisting of: hBD-<NUM> (SEQ ID NO: <NUM>) truncated hBD-<NUM> (SEQ ID NO: <NUM>) or a functionally equivalent variant thereof differing in <NUM> to <NUM> amino acids compared to hBD-<NUM> (SEQ ID NO. : <NUM>) or truncated hBD-<NUM> (SEQ ID NO. : <NUM>) may be formulated in a wide variety of formulations for intranasal, administration. The formulation can contain carriers, fillers, disintegrators, flow conditioners, sugars and sweeteners, fragrances, preservatives, stabilizers, wetting agents, emulsifiers, solubilizers, salts for regulating osmotic pressure, buffers, diluents, dispersing and surface-active agents, binders, lubricants, and/or other pharmaceutical excipients as are known in the art. One skilled in this art may further formulate a defensin selected from the group consisting of: hBD-<NUM> (SEQ ID NO: <NUM>) truncated hBD-<NUM> (SEQ ID NO: <NUM>) or a functionally equivalent variant thereof differing in <NUM> to <NUM> amino acids compared to hBD-<NUM> (SEQ ID NO. : <NUM>) or truncated hBD-<NUM> (SEQ ID NO. : <NUM>)in an appropriate manner, and in accordance with accepted practices, such as those described in Remington's Pharmaceutical Sciences, Gennaro (<NUM>).

A defensin selected from the group consisting of: hBD-<NUM> (SEQ ID NO: <NUM>) truncated hBD-<NUM> (SEQ ID NO: <NUM>) or a functionally equivalent variant thereof differing in <NUM> to <NUM> amino acids compared to hBD-<NUM> (SEQ ID NO. : <NUM>) or truncated hBD-<NUM> (SEQ ID NO. : <NUM>), can be used alone, or in combination therapies with one, two, or more other pharmaceutical compounds or drug substances, for example with glucocorticoids, β-agonists, leukotriene receptor antagonists, theophylline, antibiotics, Chemo- or Immune therapy or a combination of these and/or with one or more pharmaceutically acceptable excipient(s).

Airway administration may be used for administering the compositions of the disclosure. By intrapulmonary administration is meant topical administration to the lungs. When used herein the terms "intratracheal, intrabronchial or intra alveolar administration" include all forms of such administration whereby a defensin is applied into the trachea, the bronchi or the alveoli, respectively, whether by instillation of a solution of a defensin, by applying a defensin in a powder form, or by allowing a defensin to reach the relevant part of the airway by inhalation of a defensin as an aerosolized or nebulized solution or suspension or inhaled powder or gel, with or without added stabilizers or other excipients.

Methods of intrabronchial/alveolar administration include, but are not limited to, bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) according to methods well known to those skilled in the art, using as a lavage fluid a physiologically acceptable composition in which a defensin has been dissolved or indeed by any other effective form of intrabronchial administration including the use of inhaled powders containing defensins in dry form, with or without excipients, or the direct application of a defensin, in solution or suspension or powder form during bronchoscopy. Methods for intratracheal administration include, but are not limited to, blind tracheal washing with a similar solution of dissolved defensins or a defensin suspension, or the inhalation of nebulized fluid droplets containing dissolved defensins or a defensin suspension obtained by use of any nebulizing apparatus adequate for this purpose.

In another embodiment, intratracheal, intrabronchial or intra alveolar administration does not include inhalation of the product but the instillation or application of a solution of a defensin or a powder or a gel containing defensin into the trachea or lower airways.

Other preferred methods of administration may include using the following devices:.

The aerosol may be delivered via a) facemasks or b) via endotracheal tubes in intubated patients during mechanical ventilation (device <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM>). The devices <NUM> and <NUM> can also be used by the patient without assistance provided that the patient is able to self-activate the aerosol device.

Preferred concentrations for a solution comprising a defensin and/or functional homologues or variants of a defensin are in the range of from about <NUM>µg to <NUM>µg per ml solution, such as in the range of from about <NUM>µg to <NUM>µg per ml solution.

Pharmaceutical compositions or formulations for use in the present disclosure include a defensin selected from the group consisting of: hBD-<NUM> (SEQ ID NO: <NUM>) truncated hBD-<NUM> (SEQ ID NO: <NUM>) or a functionally equivalent variant thereof differing in <NUM> to <NUM> amino acids compared to hBD-<NUM> (SEQ ID NO. : <NUM>) or truncated hBD-<NUM> (SEQ ID NO. : <NUM>) in combination with, preferably dissolved in, a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier, preferably an aqueous carrier or diluent, or carried to the lower airways as a pegylated preparation or as a liposomal or nanoparticle preparation administered as an aerosol via inhalation, or as a lavage fluid administered via a bronchoscope as a bronchoalveloar lavage or as a blind intratracheal wash or lavage. A variety of aqueous carriers may be used, including, but not limited to <NUM>% saline, buffered saline, physiologically compatible buffers and the like. The compositions may be sterilized by conventional techniques well known to those skilled in the art. The resulting aqueous solutions may be packaged for use or filtered under aseptic conditions and freeze-dried, the freeze-dried preparation being dissolved in a sterile aqueous solution prior to administration.

In one embodiment a freeze-dried defensin preparation may be pre-packaged for example in single dose units. In an even more preferred embodiment the single dose unit is adjusted to the patient.

The compositions may contain pharmaceutically acceptable auxiliary substances or adjuvants, including, without limitation, pH adjusting and buffering agents and/or tonicity adjusting agents, such as, for example, sodium acetate, sodium lactate, sodium chloride, potassium chloride, calcium chloride, etc..

The formulations may contain pharmaceutically acceptable carriers and excipients including microspheres, liposomes, microcapsules, nanoparticles or the like. Conventional liposomes are typically composed of phospholipids (neutral or negatively charged) and/or cholesterol. The liposomes are vesicular structures based on lipid bilayers surrounding aqueous compartments. They can vary in their physiochemical properties such as size, lipid composition, surface charge and number and fluidity of the phospholipids bilayers. The most frequently used lipid for liposome formation are: <NUM>,<NUM>-Dilauroyl-sn-Glycero-<NUM>-Phosphocholine (DLPC), <NUM>,<NUM>-Dimyristoyl-sn-Glycero-<NUM>-Phosphocholine (DMPC), <NUM>,<NUM>-Dipalmitoyl-sn-Glycero-<NUM>-Phosphocholine (DPPC), <NUM>,<NUM>-Distearoyl-sn-Glycero-<NUM>-Phosphocholine (DSPC), <NUM>,<NUM>-Dioleoyl-sn-Glycero-<NUM>-Phosphocholine (DOPC), <NUM>,<NUM>-Dimyristoyl-sn-Glycero-<NUM>-Phosphoethanolamine (DMPE), <NUM>,<NUM>-Dipalmitoyl-sn-Glycero-<NUM>-Phosphoethanolamine (DPPE), <NUM>,<NUM>-Dioleoyl-sn-Glycero-<NUM>-Phosphoethanolamine (DOPE), <NUM>,<NUM>-Dimyristoyl-sn-Glycero-<NUM>-Phosphate (Monosodium Salt) (DMPA), <NUM>,<NUM>-Dipalmitoyl-sn-Glycero-<NUM>-Phosphate (Monosodium Salt) (DPPA), <NUM>,<NUM>-Dioleoyl-sn-Glycero-<NUM>-Phosphate (Monosodium Salt) (DOPA), <NUM>,<NUM>-Dimyristoyl-sn-Glycero-<NUM>-[Phospho-rac-(<NUM>-glycerol)] (Sodium Salt) (DMPG), <NUM>,<NUM>-Dipalmitoyl-sn-Glycero-<NUM>-[Phospho-rac-(<NUM>-glycerol)] (Sodium Salt) (DPPG), <NUM>,<NUM>-Dioleoyl-sn-Glycero-<NUM>-[Phospho-rac-(<NUM>-glycerol)] (Sodium Salt) (DOPG), <NUM>,<NUM>-Dimyristoyl-sn-Glycero-<NUM>-[Phospho-L-Serine] (Sodium Salt) (DMPS), <NUM>,<NUM>-Dipalmitoyl-sn-Glycero-<NUM>-[Phospho-L-Serine) (Sodium Salt) (DPPS), <NUM>,<NUM>-Dioleoyl-sn-Glycero-<NUM>-[Phospho-L-Serine] (Sodium Salt) (DOPS), <NUM>,<NUM>-Dioleoyl-sn-Glycero-<NUM>-Phosphoethanolamine-N-(glutaryl) (Sodium Salt) and <NUM>,<NUM>',<NUM>,<NUM>'-Tetramyristoyl Cardiolipin (Ammonium Salt). Formulations composed of DPPC in combination with other lipids or modifiers of liposomes are preferred e.g. in combination with cholesterol and/or phosphatidylcholine.

Long-circulating liposomes are characterized by their ability to extravasate at body sites where the permeability of the vascular wall is increased. The most popular way of producing long-circulating liposomes is to attach hydrophilic polymer polyethylene glycol (PEG) covalently to the outer surface of the liposome. Some of the preferred lipids are: <NUM>,<NUM>-Dipalmitoyl-sn-Glycero-<NUM>-Phosphoethanolamine-N-[Methoxy(Polyethylene glycol)-<NUM>] (Ammonium Salt), <NUM>,<NUM>-Dipalmitoyl-sn-Glycero-<NUM>-Phosphoethanolamine-N-[Methoxy(Polyethylene glycol)-<NUM>] (Ammonium Salt), <NUM>,<NUM>-Dioleoyl-<NUM>-Trimethylammonium-Propane (Chloride Salt) (DOTAP).

Possible lipids applicable for liposomes are supplied by Avanti, Polar Lipids, Inc, Alabaster, AL. Additionally, the liposome suspension may include lipid-protective agents which protect lipids against free-radical and lipid-peroxidative damage on storage. Lipophilic free-radical quenchers, such as alpha-tocopherol and water-soluble iron-specific chelators, such as ferrioxianine, are preferred.

A variety of methods are available for preparing liposomes, as described in, e.g., <NPL>), <CIT>, <CIT> and <CIT>. Another method produces multilamellar vesicles of heterogeneous sizes. In this method, the vesicle-forming lipids are dissolved in a suitable organic solvent or solvent system and dried under vacuum or an inert gas to form a thin lipid film. If desired, the film may be redissolved in a suitable solvent, such as tertiary butanol, and then lyophilized to form a more homogeneous lipid mixture which is in a more easily hydrated powder-like form. This film is covered with an aqueous solution of the targeted drug and the targeting component and allowed to hydrate, typically over a <NUM>-<NUM> minute period with agitation. The size distribution of the resulting multilamellar vesicles can be shifted toward smaller sizes by hydrating the lipids under more vigorous agitation conditions or by adding solubilizing detergents such as deoxycholate.

Micelles are formed by surfactants (molecules that contain a hydrophobic portion and one or more ionic or otherwise strongly hydrophilic groups) in aqueous solution.

Common surfactants well known to one of skill in the art can be used in the micelles of the present invention. Suitable surfactants include sodium laureate, sodium oleate, sodium lauryl sulfate, octaoxyethylene glycol monododecyl ether, octoxynol <NUM> and PLURONIC F-<NUM> (Wyandotte Chemicals Corp. Preferred surfactants are nonionic polyoxyethylene and polyoxypropylene detergents compatible with IV injection such as, TWEEN-<NUM>, PLURONIC F-<NUM>, n-octyl-beta-D-glucopyranoside, and the like. In addition, phospholipids, such as those described for use in the production of liposomes, may also be used for micelle formation.

To determine and assess the efficacy of mammalian β-defensins in a murine, infection induced, severe, steroid-insensitive, neutrophilic, allergic airways disease model of asthma (<FIG>).

Female <NUM>-<NUM> weeks old BALB/c mice were intraperitoneally (IP) sensitized to ovalbumin <NUM>µg with the adjuvant alum <NUM> in <NUM>µL <NUM>% saline. Mice were intranasally (IN) challenged with Ova on day <NUM>-<NUM> and day <NUM>-<NUM> (<NUM>µg in 50µL sterile saline). On day <NUM>, mice were inoculated IN with the natural mouse pathogen Chlamydia muridarum (Cmu: <NUM> inclusion forming units, ATCCVR-<NUM>, <NUM>µL sucrose phosphate glutamate buffer (SPG). Dexamethasone (DEX) was administered IN (<NUM>/kg; 50µL phosphate buffered saline (PBS)) on day <NUM>-<NUM> with Ova challenges. hBD-<NUM> was administered IN (<NUM>/kg; <NUM>µL phosphate buffered saline) on day <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM>.

Drugs administered through intranasal delivery to mice are expected to reach the lungs via the airways and is an art-recognized model of intrapulmonary administration.

Airway inflammation: Differential leucocyte counts were obtained from May-Grunwald Giemsa stained BALF cells, using a light microscope.

Lung function: AHR was measured by anaesthetized, cannulated mice using the Scireq Flexivent FX1 system. Data are represented as airway resistance at <NUM>/kg methacholine and as dose responsive curves.

Airway inflammation: The Ova sensitized and C. muridarum infected mice developed a highly statistically significant increase of total leucocytes, macrophages, lymphocytes, neutrophils and to a lesser extent eosinophils. The IN hBD-<NUM> treated group showed a complete normalization of neutrophil count and to a lesser extent lymphocytes, whereas macrophages and eosinophils did not change. The IN hBD-<NUM> plus DEX group showed complete normalization of eosinophils, but aside from this no additive effect was observed (<FIG>).

Lung function: The Ova sensitized mice (Ova) had a greater AHR compared with Saline (Sal) (non-asthmatic) controls. The difference is statistically highly significant. The IN hBD-<NUM> treated group (Cmu/Ova/hBD2) showed a completely normalized AHR on par with the Saline control group. The IN hBD-<NUM> plus DEX group showed a completely normalized AHR on par with the Saline control group but DEX did not seem to have an additive effect (<FIG>).

Conclusion: the example demonstrates that intranasally administered hBD2 can completely normalize airway hyper-responsiveness and neutrophil count in BALF in a known steroid-refractory animal model of asthma.

To determine and assess the efficacy of IN versus Oral administered mammalian β-defensins in a murine house dust mite/Freunds complete adjuvant driven model of allergic asthma (<FIG>).

Treatment regime: Female <NUM>-<NUM> weeks old BALB/c mice were randomly allocated into <NUM> study groups one day prior to study start and subcutaneously (SC) sensitized to house dust mite (<NUM>µg HDM in <NUM>µL saline plus Freunds complete adjuvant in <NUM>% saline). Mice were then intranasally (IN) challenged with HDM on day <NUM> (HDM <NUM>µg in 50µL of saline). Dexamethasone was administered orally (<NUM>/kg BID; 50µL phosphate buffered saline (PBS)) on day <NUM>. hBD-<NUM> was administered IN or orally (<NUM>/kg TID IN; <NUM>/kg TID IN; <NUM>/kg TID orally, <NUM>µL phosphate buffered saline) on day <NUM>. The initial dose was administered <NUM> minutes prior to challenge, and the subsequent doses approximately <NUM> hours apart.

Airway inflammation: At <NUM> hours post challenge, bronchoalveolar lavage was performed washing the lungs with <NUM> volumes of cold PBS (<NUM>; <NUM> and <NUM>, total <NUM>). Total and differential leucocyte cell counts were determined on an automated haematological analyser Sysmex XT-2000iV.

Lung function: Starting <NUM> hours after HDM challenge, measurements of lung resistance and lung compliance were carried out after methacholine challenge (<NUM> MCH1; <NUM> MCH2; <NUM> MCH3 and <NUM>/mL MCH4) by anaesthetized, cannulated mice using DSI's Buxco Finepoint RC system. Data are represented as airway resistance at <NUM>/kg methacholine and as dose responsive curves.

Lung sampling for cytokine analysis: After completion of every BAL, lungs were removed from the thorax, snap frozen in liquid nitrogen and stored frozen at -<NUM> degrees Celcius until analysis of cytokine concentration of IL-1β, TNF-α, IL-<NUM>, IL-<NUM> and IFNγ by ELISA.

An increase of lung resistance values and decrease of pulmonary compliance values in HDM-challenged vehicle treated animals in comparison to saline-challenged (non-asthmatic) mice was observed. An inflammatory response in both vehicle-treated groups of mice (oral and intranasal) was induced by a single HDM challenge <NUM> days post sensitization with HDM and adjuvant. It was characterized by a statistically significant increase in total cell, eosinophil, neutrophil, macrophage and lymphocyte counts in BALF (p<<NUM>) when compared to saline-challenged controls. Also, analysis of concentration of five cytokines IL-1β, TNF-α, IL-<NUM>, IL-<NUM> and IFN-γ in lung tissue homogenates revealed significantly higher levels in HDM-challenged animals compared to saline-challenged controls.

Dexamethasone treatment significantly inhibited total cell and eosinophil counts but not neutrophil, macrophage and lymphocyte counts in BALF. In accordance with the cellular data, dexamethasone did not influence levels of IL-1β, TNF-α, IL-<NUM>, IL-<NUM> and IFN-γ in lung tissue homogenates as compared to HDM/vehicle control. However, it influenced AHR measurements related to eosinophil counts. Obtained results indicate that this model is steroid resistant to a certain degree.

Test item hBD-<NUM>, both after oral and intranasal application TID, on day <NUM>, effectively inhibited increase of airway resistance (<FIG>) and decrease of pulmonary compliance (<FIG>) as compared to HDM challenged vehicle treated animals. More prominent effect was observed on some measured parameters after intranasal application, such as cellular influx in BALF, where both doses (<NUM>/kg/day TID and <NUM>/kg/day TID) significantly inhibited neutrophil counts, while the steroid standard dexamethasone failed to inhibit them. Similar significant effects were observed on IL-<NUM>, IL-<NUM> and IFN-γ cytokine levels in lung tissue homogenates with both dosing routes (<FIG>, <FIG>, <FIG>). Perorally administered hBD2 significantly reduced TNF-α (<FIG>), while the intranasally administered hBD2 was not significantly different from the control. <FIG> shows the effect on IL-1β.

Conclusion: All obtained results indicate clear anti-inflammatory effects of hBD-<NUM> in the house dust mite/Freunds complete adjuvant driven mouse model of allergic asthma. Surprisingly, orally administered hBD2 was also effective in treating asthma and reducing inflammation in asthmatic mice.

To determine and assess the efficacy of IN versus Oral mammalian β-defensins in a murine house dust mite/Freunds complete adjuvant driven model of allergic asthma (<FIG>).

Treatment regime: Female <NUM>-<NUM> weeks old BALB/c mice randomly allocated into <NUM> study groups one day prior to study start were subcutaneously (SC) sensitized to house dust mite (<NUM>µg HDM in <NUM>µL saline plus Freund's complete adjuvant in <NUM>% saline). Mice were intranasally (IN) challenged with HDM on day <NUM> (HDM <NUM>µg in 50µL of saline). hBD-<NUM> was administered IN or orally (<NUM>/kg TID IN; <NUM>/kg TID orally, <NUM>µL phosphate buffered saline) on day <NUM>. The initial dose was administered <NUM> minutes prior to challenge, and the subsequent doses approximately <NUM> hours apart.

Lung tissue sampling: Lungs were removed from the thorax, snap frozen in liquid nitrogen and stored frozen at -<NUM> degrees Celsius until analysis of cytokine concentration of IL-<NUM>, IL-<NUM>, IL-<NUM> (KC), IL-<NUM> and IL-<NUM> by ELISA.

Lungs were inflated in situ in <NUM>% buffered formalin, removed from thorax, placed individually in <NUM>% buffered formalin, paraffin embedded in toto, sectioned and H&E/PAS stained.

All terminal blood samples were collected via jugular vein bleeds. Blood was sampled to Li-heparin tubes, put on ice and immediately centrifuged at <NUM>. Plasma was separated and stored at -<NUM> until the potential SCFA analysis.

The lungs were exposed and excised by gently opening the thorax and by cutting down either side of the sternum and ribs and trimming back. Lungs from first <NUM> animals per group were removed from thorax, snap frozen in liquid nitrogen and stored frozen at - <NUM> until analysis of cytokine concentration by ELISA.

Lungs from other <NUM> animals per group were inflated in situ with <NUM>% buffered formalin, removed from thorax, placed individually in <NUM>% buffered formalin, paraffin embedded in toto, sectioned and H&E/PAS stained. The paraffin blocks were retained for the IHC analysis.

Cellular influx (mononuclears, eosinophils, neutrophils) was assessed semi-quantitatively on H&E stained slides separately for peri-bronchial/bronchiolar and perivascular space as follows:.

Overall score for inflammation was calculated as sum of all individual scores.

Goblet cell metaplasia, separately at a level of large airways and distal airways, was assessed at PAS-stained slides as follows:.

Data was processed using MS Excel. Statistical analysis was performed using GraphPad Prism software (version <NUM>). Differences between groups are considered statistically significant when p<<NUM>.

Statistical analysis of selected histological score-values data were performed using median and non-parametric Mann-Whitney test.

An inflammatory response in both vehicle-treated groups of mice (oral and intranasal) was induced by a single HDM challenge <NUM> days post sensitization with HDM and adjuvant. It was characterized by a statistically significant increase in concentration of five cytokines IL-<NUM>, IL-<NUM>, IL-<NUM>, IL-<NUM> and IL-<NUM> in lung tissue homogenates and by severe histological inflammatory changes of lung tissue in HDM-challenged animals compared to saline-challenged controls.

Test item hBD-<NUM>, both after oral and intranasal application TID, on day <NUM>, effectively inhibited increase in histological inflammation of lung tissue as compared to HDM challenged vehicle treated animals (<FIG>, <FIG>). Similar significant effects were observed on IL-<NUM>, IL-<NUM>, IL-<NUM>, IL-<NUM> and IL-<NUM> cytokine levels in lung tissue homogenates with both dosing routes (<FIG>, <FIG>, <FIG>, <FIG>).

Conclusion: All obtained results indicate clear anti-inflammatory effects of hBD-<NUM> in the house dust mite/Freunds complete adjuvant driven mouse model of allergic asthma. The effects were obtained using both intranasal and oral administration of hBD-<NUM>.

Pharmacokinetic study to establish pharmacokinetic profile of hBD-<NUM> following single oral gavage of <NUM>/kg administration to NMRI mice.

Treatment regimen: <NUM> female NMRI mice were dosed by oral gavage <NUM>/kg using a gavage tube and a <NUM> syringe according to the individual body weight obtained on the day of dosing. Urine was strived sampled at random time points by gently massaging the inguinal area of the abdomen. The first blood sample was taken using a submandibular sampling method. The second blood sample was collected from Isoflurane anaesthetised mice. Intestinal samples were taken after euthanasia. The abdomen of each mouse was opened and three sections of the intestines were sampled.

hBD-<NUM> could not be detected by HPLC in any of the serum or urine samples as all values were below the detection level of < <NUM> pg/ml. This indicates that hBD-<NUM> is not systemically available after oral dosing of <NUM>/kg in mice (<FIG>).

To investigate and compare the pharmacokinetic profile of hBD-<NUM> fused to the C-terminal (molecular weight <NUM> Da) or N-terminal (molecular weight <NUM> Da) of human serum albumin following subcutaneous or intravenous administration of a molar equivalent to <NUM>/kg hBD-<NUM> (molecular weight <NUM> Da) to NMRI female mice.

Treatment regimen: The animals were dosed <NUM>/kg of stock concentration of <NUM>/ml according to the individual body weight (<NUM>µL for a <NUM> gram mouse). First blood sample was taken using a submandibular sampling method and the second following Isoflurane anaesthesia and euthanasi.

hBD-<NUM> showed a half-life of <NUM> hour and the two fused proteins a half-life of <NUM> hours. AUC was changed dramatically. Renal clearances were also changed from <NUM>/min for hBD-<NUM> to <NUM>-<NUM>/min for the two fused molecules (<FIG>, <FIG>).

The example demonstrates that the half life of hBD2 can be extended markedly by Cor N-terminal conjugation to albumin.

To determine and assess the anti-inflammatory effect of "hBD-<NUM>-albumin fusion N-terminal" in an acute <NUM>-day Dextran Sodium Sulphate (DSS) induced colitis model in mice.

Treatment regimen: "hBD-<NUM>-albumin N-terminal" was administered intravenously via the tail vein or subcutaneously with the use of a sterile <NUM> needle in a dosing volume of <NUM>/kg body weight. The animals received <NUM> dose daily for <NUM> executive days. The active control Dexamethasone (DEX) was given subcutaneously at a dose of <NUM>/kg in a dosing volume of <NUM>/kg body weight OD.

Treatment with "hBD-<NUM>-albumin N-terminal" resulted in a significant inhibition of the disease activity index (DAI) when administered daily at a dose of <NUM>/kg via the intravenous route (p<<NUM>). Additionally, on day <NUM> a significant inhibition of the DAI score was also observed when the "hBD-<NUM>-albumin N-terminal" was administered daily at a dose of <NUM>/kg and at a dose of <NUM>/kg subcutaneously respectively (p<<NUM>).

Administration of dextran sodium sulphate resulted in a significant inflammation and injury of the colonic tissue as evidenced after histological examination. Treatment with "hBD-<NUM>-albumin N-terminal" did not result in any statistically significant reduction of this histological damage, but similarly the active control DEX failed to significantly reduce histological injury.

The results further showed a significant increase in body weight on day <NUM> in the animals treated with "hBD-<NUM>-albumin N-terminal" despite a transient fall in body weight on days <NUM> and <NUM>. In contrast the DEX treated animals displayed a very significant decrease in body weight from day <NUM> onwards (p<<NUM>).

The example demonstrates the hBD2-albumin fusion N-terminal is biologically active in an animal model of an inflammatory condition.

To determine and assess the anti-inflammatory effect of "hBD-<NUM>-albumin fusion C-terminal" in an acute <NUM>-day Dextran Sodium Sulphate (DSS) induced colitis model in mice.

Treatment regimen: "hBD-<NUM>-albumin C-terminal" was administered intravenously via the tail vein or subcutaneously with the use of a sterile <NUM> needle in a dosing volume of <NUM>/kg body weight. The animals received <NUM> dose daily for <NUM> executive days. The active control Prednisolone (Pred) was given orally by gavage at a dose of <NUM>/kg in a dosing volume of <NUM>/kg body weight OD.

Treatment with "hBD-<NUM>-albumin C-terminal" resulted in a significant inhibition of the DAI when administered daily at a dose of <NUM>/kg via the intravenous route (p<<NUM>). Additionally "hBD-<NUM>-albumin C-terminal" resulted in a significant inhibition of the DAI when administered on alternative days <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM> at a dose of <NUM>/kg via the intravenous route (p<<NUM>) (<FIG>). Daily treatment with Pred resulted in a significant inhibition of the DAI on day <NUM> (p<<NUM>).

Administration of dextran sodium sulphate resulted in a significant inflammation and injury of the colonic tissue as evidenced after histological examination. Treatment with "hBD-<NUM>-albumin C-terminal" at a dose of <NUM>/kg resulted in a statistically significant reduction of this histological damage (p<<NUM>). Similarly, daily treatment with "hBD-<NUM>-albumin C-terminal" at a dose of <NUM>/kg and of <NUM>/kg on days <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, and <NUM> resulted in a significant reduction of the histological damage to the colon (p<<NUM>) (<FIG>). Treatment with the active control Pred failed to significantly reduce histological injury in the proximal part of the colon but did reduce the injury in the distal colon (p<<NUM>).

The results further showed a significant increase in body weight in the animals treated with "hBD-<NUM>-albumin C-terminal" (p<<NUM>).

The example demonstrates the hBD2-albumin fusion C-terminal is biologically active in an animal model of an inflammatory condition.

To determine and assess the efficacy of prophylactic treatment with IN versus Oral mammalian β-defensins in a murine house dust mite driven model of allergic asthma.

Treatment regime: Female <NUM>-<NUM> weeks old BALB/c mice were randomly allocated into <NUM> study groups one day prior to study start and subcutaneously (SC) sensitized to house dust mite (<NUM>µg HDM in <NUM>µL saline plus Freund's complete adjuvant in <NUM>% saline). The mice were treated with hBD-<NUM> orally and intranasally respectively at a dose of <NUM>/kg/day (<NUM>/kg TID) starting on day <NUM> in the morning and continued TID at approximately <NUM> hours intervals. The last dose was administered on day <NUM> one hour prior to challenge. The total number of doses were <NUM> doses or a total of <NUM>/kg hBD-<NUM>. Mice were then intranasally (IN) challenged with HDM on day <NUM> (HDM <NUM>µg in 50µL of saline).

Lung sampling for cytokine analysis: After completion of every BAL, lungs were removed from the thorax, snap frozen in liquid nitrogen and stored frozen at -<NUM> degrees Celcius until analysis of cytokine concentration of TNF-α, IL-<NUM>, IL-<NUM>, IL-<NUM>, IL-<NUM>, IL-<NUM> and IL-<NUM> in lung homogenate by ELISA.

An increase of lung resistance values and decrease of pulmonary compliance values in HDM-challenged vehicle treated animals in comparison to saline-challenged (non-asthmatic) mice was observed. An inflammatory response in both vehicle-treated groups of mice (oral and intranasal) was induced by a single HDM challenge <NUM> days post sensitization with HDM. It was characterized by a statistically significant increase in total cell, eosinophil, neutrophil, macrophage and lymphocyte counts in BALF (p<<NUM>) when compared to saline-challenged controls. Also, analysis of concentration of seven cytokines TNF-α, IL-<NUM>, IL-<NUM>, IL-<NUM>, IL-<NUM>, IL-<NUM> and IL-<NUM> in lung tissue homogenates revealed significantly higher levels in HDM-challenged animals compared to saline-challenged controls.

hBD-<NUM>, both after oral and intranasal application TID, administered from day <NUM> to day <NUM> (a total of <NUM>/kg in <NUM> administrations), effectively preserved a normal lung function inhibiting the increase of airway resistance (<FIG>) and the decrease of pulmonary compliance (<FIG>) as compared to HDM challenged vehicle treated animals. An effect on cellular influx in BALF was observed after oral application, that significantly inhibited neutrophil counts (<FIG>), but otherwise immune cells migrated into BALF as normally observed in asthma, but importantly the cytokine storm often observed in asthma and the basis for an asthma attack was prevented with a complete normalization of cytokine concentrations in lung tissue homogenates especially after oral administration of hBD-<NUM>. TNF-α, IL-<NUM>, IL-<NUM>, IL-<NUM>, IL-<NUM> and IL-<NUM> cytokine levels following oral administration are shown in <FIG>. There was a trend towards lowering of TNF-α, IL-<NUM>, IL-<NUM>, IL-<NUM>, IL-<NUM> and IL-<NUM> following intranasally administered hBD-<NUM>, but this was not statistically significantly different from the control. Conclusion: All obtained results indicate clear prophylactic, preventive and anti-inflammatory effects of hBD-<NUM> in the house dust mite driven mouse model of allergic asthma.

Protection and preservation of gut microbiota by prophylactic treatment with defensins. Mice: Mice were housed in trios, <NUM> cages per group. Feed intake was registered daily just before lights were turned off at <NUM> pm. Individual mice were subjected to experimental procedures in altered order both group and cage wise. Mice were kept at room temperature under a <NUM>-hour light/dark cycle at SPF standard conditions. The treatment regime is described in <FIG>.

Diets: For dosing, the average weight was estimated to be <NUM> grams per mouse. Mice eat approximately <NUM> grams of feed per mouse per day.

Treatment regime: Mice were fed either a high fat diet (HFD) or a low fat (LF) control diet. The HFD contained <NUM> subgroups; <NUM> hBD2, <NUM> HD5, <NUM> hBD2/HD5 and <NUM> standard HFD without supplementation of defensins. Defensin concentration was <NUM> hBD2 per kg mouse per day. HD5 was given in equimolar concentration to hBD2. The combinatory group was given <NUM>% hBD2 + <NUM>% HD5, hence a total amount of defensins equivalent to the remaining test groups.

Microbial analyses were carried out to study the microbiota of the intestine.

Longitudinal <NUM> characterization was conducted on <NUM> paired samples from <NUM> mice, <NUM> samples in total. Each mouse was sampled prior to diet change, <NUM> week post diet change, <NUM> weeks post diet change and at termination, thus ensuring a thorough characterization of the faecal microbiota as a result of defensin treatment.

Microbiota. hBD2 affected primarily the microbial presence, whereas HD5 and hBD2+HD5 affected primarily the microbial abundance. <FIG> shows the relative abundance of species in the different treatment groups and illustrate the profound effect of hBD2 and HD5 on intestinal flora. A statistically significant increase of abundance of Allobaculum was seen in the small intestine following prophylaxis with HD5 (p<<NUM>; <FIG>). Allobaculum is a short chain fatty acid producing species. Short chain fatty acids play an important role in regulating colonic Treg cell homeostasis mediated via GPCR43. A statistically significant increase in abundance of Barnesiella in the colon was observed following prophylactic treatment with hBD2 (p<<NUM>; <FIG>). Barnesiella is a bacteria that is able to eliminate and protect against the intestinal dominance of antibiotic-resistant pathogenic bacteria that can be observed in hospitalized patients. The abundance of Barnesiella corresponds with the amount of several immunoregulatory cells. The higher the level of Barnesiella in the colon, the more marginal zone B cells and invariant natural killer T cells enumerated in the spleen and liver. In the development of colitis in IL-<NUM>-/- mice, higher levels of a Barnesiella phylotype correlated with lower activity levels of the disease. A trend towards lower abundance of Lactobacillaceae was observed in colon following prophylactic treatment with hBD2 (p=<NUM>; <FIG>).

Conclusion: Lung as well as intestinal microbiota seems to play an important role in asthma the latter through the gut-lung axis. Defensins' profound influence on the presence and abundance of key commensal bacteria and colonic T cell homeostasis could explain the lung effects observed in allergic asthmatic mice following oral treatment with defensins but also the difference between lung effects observed following intranasal versus oral administration. This example <NUM> demonstrates that both alpha and beta defensins, specifically HD5 and hBD2 have a profound influence on the microbiota composition in terms of number of species present as well as overall number of bacteria and thus seem to protect and preserve a healthy microbiota. More specifically defensins seem to promote Short Chain Fatty Acid producing bacteria, SCFA that play a key role in colonic Treg cell homeostasis.

Mice and diets. The experiment elucidates the effect of hBD2 and HD5 on the microbiota in diet-induced obese mice. A run-in period of <NUM> weeks where mice were fed a very HFD (<NUM>% energy from fat) preceded the intervention. Only mice meeting the criteria of a minimum of <NUM> gram weight gain (approximately <NUM>% of initial bodyweight) during the run-in period were included in the final analyses. Mice that did not meet these criteria stayed in their respective cages as hierarchy 'keepers'. They were exposed to all experimental tests, but excluded from the analyses.

Treatment regimen. Before the intervention all mice were MR scanned. Cages of mice were allocated to experimental groups based on their fat mass. All subsequent measures were paired with data from the same mouse before the intervention. A LFD (low fat diet) reference group was running in parallel. As controls for the intervention <NUM> additional groups were included: <NUM> very HFD and <NUM> LFD. Experimental mice stayed on the very HFD during the intervention. The mice were on the experimental diet for <NUM> weeks. They were co-housed throughout the experiment, <NUM> mice per cage, <NUM> cages per group. All tests ran over <NUM> days, <NUM> cage per group per day. The treatment regime is shown in <FIG>.

Microbial analyses were carried out to study the microbiota of the intestine. Longitudinal <NUM> characterization was conducted on <NUM> paired samples from <NUM> mice, <NUM> samples in total. Each mouse was sampled prior to diet change, <NUM> week post diet change, <NUM> weeks post diet change and at termination, thus ensuring a thorough characterization of the faecal microbiota as a result of defensin treatment.

Both defensins were shown to have a profound influence on the bacterial presence as well as bacterial absence. HD5 increased the abundance of Alloprevotella statistically significantly in the colon (p<<NUM>) (<FIG>) whereas hBD2 had no influence on Alloprevotella abundance. hBD2 dramatically and statistically significant increased the relative abundance of Bifidobacteriaceae both in the small intestine and in the colon (p<<NUM> and p<<NUM> respectively; <FIG>). There was a trend towards HD5 increasing the abundance of Bifidobacteriaceae in the small intestine (<FIG>). Lung as well as intestinal microbiota seems to play an important role in asthma the latter through the gut-lung axis. Defensins profound influence on the presence and abundance of key commensal bacteria and colonic T cell homeostasis could explain the lung effects observed in allergic asthmatic mice following oral treatment with defensins but also the difference between lung effects observed following intranasal versus oral administration.

Claim 1:
A defensin selected from the group consisting of hBD2 (SEQ ID NO: <NUM>) and truncated hBD2 (SEQ ID NO:<NUM>), or a functionally equivalent variant thereof differing in <NUM> to <NUM> amino acids compared to hBD-<NUM> (SEQ ID NO.: <NUM>) or truncated hBD-<NUM> (SEQ ID NO.: <NUM>), for use in a method of treatment and/or prevention of asthma, bronchiectasis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD) or emphysema the method comprising oral or intrapulmonary administration of said defensin.