Patent ID: 8647616

Claim:
A method for treating inflammatory bowel disease, the method comprising: a) identifying a patient with inflammatory bowel disease; b) obtaining inflammation-specific monocytes; c) producing gene-modified, inflammation-specific monocytes from the inflammation-specific monocytes, where the gene-modified, inflammation-specific monocytes comprise a 1-alpha-hydroxylase gene, where the 1-alpha-hydroxylase gene is expressed to produce functional 1-alpha-hydroxylase enzyme when the monocytes transdifferentiate into gene-modified, inflammation-specific macrophages; d) administering an amount of the gene-modified, inflammation-specific monocytes to the patient; e) allowing the gene-modified, inflammation-specific monocytes to locate and enter into an inflamed organ or tissue affected by the inflammatory bowel disease; f) allowing the gene-modified, inflammation-specific monocytes to transdifferentiate into gene-modified, inflammation-specific macrophages; and g) allowing the gene-modified, inflammation-specific macrophages to produce 1-alpha-hydroxylase, where production of the 1-alpha-hydroxylase causes the localized production of calcitriol in the inflamed organ or tissue from circulating calcidiol which is present in body fluids of the patient, thereby treating the inflammatory bowel disease.