Patent Application: US-48279704-A

Abstract:
a thylakoid extract that is preferably stabilized and activable for treating inflammation is described . different types of cell or tissue targets and inflammatory stimuli have been used to evaluate the performance of the extract , which , in all cases successfully modulate inflammation through a balance of pro / anti - inflammatory cytokines . compositions comprising the extract and other anti - inflammatory agents , such as glucocorticoids or non - steroidal anti - inflammatory drugs are further disclosed and claimed .

Description:
the thylakoid extract is an active extract obtained from photosynthetic organisms , which has the ability to modulate the inflammatory process and , particularly , to modulate inflammatory cytokines and / or their balance in tissues submitted to stresses that induce an inflammatory response . in particular , the thylakoid extract has demonstrated its competence in the modulation of the pro - inflammatory cytokine tnf - α and the anti - inflammatory cytokine il - 10 , thus providing protection against the damages caused by the inflammatory response or , conversely , increasing an immune response to improve the body &# 39 ; s reaction against a danger ( such as a tumor or an intruder ) or a stress agent . the thylakoid extract of the present invention is described in patent publication wo01 / 49305 . this extract is defined as one obtained by a process comprising the steps of : a ) providing a suspension of photosynthetic organism constituents that contain thylakoids ; b ) disrupting the constituents while recovering thylakoids under light conditions which minimize light flux , in a medium having a viscosity comprised between 1 to 1 . 3 centipoise and a ph above 2 and below 10 ; the medium being added in a volume calculated upon the following equation : whereby a first extract essentially constituted of thylakoids , cells debris / membranes , and a liquid phase is obtained , said thylakolds comprising organized photosynthetic pigments in their fundamental state ; c ) separating thylakoids , cell debris / membranes and liquid phase from each another , to form a second , third and fourth extracts essentially constituted by isolated thylakoids , cell debris / membranes , and a liquid phase , respectively ; and d ) eliminating any electron donor from the first , second and third extracts so as to stabilize the photosynthetic pigments in their fundamental state . in this process , the ph is preferably comprised between 5 and 8 , namely between 6 and 7 . 5 . the suspension of step a ) is obtained by mechanically dispersing plant constituents or tissues in said medium . the step a ) is preceded by a step of submitting a plant to a conditioning parameter selected from light , osmotic stress , heat , cold , freezing , dryness , hormones , chemical and biological inducers . preferably , the step of conditioning is a light environment of a wavelength comprised between about 500 and 600 nm , and step b ) is performed under the same light conditions . in the process , the viscosity is partly achieved by adding a sugar in the medium . sorbitol is such a sugar that has been used in a concentration of about 0 . 2 to 1 . 5 m in the medium . any other sugar achieving a viscosity equivalent to 0 . 2 to 1 . 5 m sorbitol is contemplated . the sorbitol concentration that has been particularly preferred is 0 . 2 to 0 . 4 m . the medium namely has the following composition : tris or acetate or ascorbate buffer ( 20 mm ) having a ph of 7 . 5 or sorbitol or sucrose or fructose 350 mm . in the process , the step of separating is performed upon a difference of sedimentation coefficient of each of thylakoids , cell debris and membranes , and liquid phase . this step of separating namely comprises centrifuging the first extract in a tube equipped with a filter in a superior portion of the tube , the filter having a porosity onto which cell debris and membranes deposit while the thylakoids and the liquid phase pass through the filter , the thylakoids forming a pellet in an inferior portion of the tube . the electron donor which is withdrawn at the end of the process is usually water . alternatively , water is eliminated by exchanging it against an amphoteric solvent or surfactant after step c ). the amphoteric solvent is preferably propylene glycol . performing this process results in the obtention of an extract comprising purified functional photosynthetic pigments in their thylakoid membrane environment . the extract is composed of substantially pure thylakoids free of electron donor , the photosynthetic chlorophyll and carotenoid pigments thereof being stabilized in their integral and fundamental state and ratio to maximize the absorption and dissipation of energy and to protect the extract against oxidative damages . the thylakoid extract is considered as a modulator of cytokine balance . such a balance involves , on the one hand , pro - inflammatory cytokines that may comprise tnf - α , and , on the other hand , anti - inflammatory cytokines that may comprise il - 10 . a modification of this balance accompanies other biological , biochemical , and / or physiological evidence of inflammation damage following stress induced by inflammatory agents such as physical , traumatic or infectious agents . the thylakoid extract is particularly considered to significantly prevent or alleviate the damage due to disorganized inflammation through the modulation of inflammatory cytokines in favor of anti - inflammatory cytokines . the thylakoid extract can regulate the inflammatory response through the modulation of pro - and anti - inflammatory cytokines at concentrations of 0 . 00005 to 5 %. generally , topical formulations would comprise from 0 . 1 μg to 1 mg of extract per cm 2 of skin or mucosae . maximum efficacy is obtained with 0 . 001 to 0 . 1 % thylakoid extract for an application of 2 μl per cm 2 , which provides an effective amount of 2 μg to 200 μg of extract per cm 2 of surface . furthermore , systemic formulations would comprise from 0 . 00005 to 500 mg of extract per kg of weight . maximum efficacy is obtained with 0 . 001 to 0 . 1 % thylakoid extract which provides an effective amount of 0 . 05 to 5 mg of extract per kg of weight . this extract is used to prevent or alleviate symptoms of inflammation damage to a degree that is comparable or superior to that of recognized anti - inflammatory therapies / products . the thylakoid extract can be further combined to other anti - inflammatory agents . the use of the extract in a combined therapy may take different forms ( co - applied , co - formulated or sequentially administered with one or more of the complementary anti - inflammatory agents ). such anti - inflammatory agents include but are not limited to molecules such as peptides ( bradykinin antagonists , for example ), anti - adhesion molecules ( anti - lfa - 1 or anti - icam - 1 antibodies , for example ), anti - inflammatory extracts of natural ( animal ( e . g . cartilage , milk ), plant , microbe , algae , mineral ( e . g . zinc , gold ), for example ), or synthetic origin , immunosuppressants , glucocorticoids , steroids , non - steroidal anti - inflammatory drugs or nsaids , cytokine suppressive anti - inflammatory drugs , anti - ischemics , nitric oxide inhibitors , hypoglycemiants , cromogl cate , anti - histaminics , adrenergics , xanthins , leucotriene receptor antagonists , protease and other enzyme inhibitors ( e . g . specific cox - 2 and - lox inhibitors , dual lox / cox inhibitors , phospholipase a2 inhibitors , nadphoxidase inhibitors , adenosine kinase inhibitors ), septic shock inhibitors , anti - oxidants ( vitamins , glutathione . . . ) and nicotine . an impressive list of compounds can be found in u . s . pat . no . 6 , 407 , 135 as anti - inflammatory candidates . the doses of these anti - inflammatory agents are those known in the literature or lower . such combination may aim at reducing the dose of a drug that produces undesirable side effects , or at increasing the efficacy of a drug without increasing the severity of the side effects . this invention will be described hereinbelow , referring to specific embodiments and the appended figures , the purpose thereof being to illustrate this invention rather than to limit its scope . fig1 . effect of thylakoid extract on cytokine expression (% relative to control ) in alveolar macrophages when induced with lps fig2 . effect of pretreatment with thylakoid extract on il - 10 expression in lps - stimulated alveolar macrophages fig3 . effect of post - treatment with thylakoid extract on il - 10 expression in lps - stimulated alveolar macrophages fig4 . effect of pre - treatment with thylakoid extract on tnf - alpha expression in lps - stimulated alveolar macrophages fig5 . effects of post - treatment with thylakoid extract on tnf - alpha expression in lps - stimulated alveolar macrophages fig6 . effect of thylakoid extract on the physical parameters of rat ear oedema following inflammation induced by arachidonic acid fig7 . effect of thylakoid extract on the physical parameters of mouse ear oedema following inflammation induced by tpa fig8 . effect of thylakoid extract on the physical parameters ( thickness ) of tpa - induced mouse ear inflammation fig9 . effect of thylakoid extract on myeloperoxidase release in tpa - induced mouse ear inflammation fig1 . effect of thylakoid extract on tnf - α expression in mouse skin following inflammation induction by uv - irradiation fig1 . effect of intraperitoneal administration of thylakoid extract on weight of rat intestine induced by tnbs fig1 . effect of thylakoid extract on reducing tnbs - induced colonic damage fig1 . effect of thylakoid extract on the physical parameters of dss - induced intestine inflammation fig1 . effect of intraperitoneal administration of thylakoid extract on rat foot oedema induced by carrageenan fig1 . effect of pre - treatment with thylakoid extract and / or budesonide on il - 10 expression in lps - stimulated alveolar macrophages fig1 . effect of post - treatment with thylakoid extract and / or budesonide on il - 10 expression in lps - stimulated alveolar macrophages fig1 . potentiation of budesonide by thylakoid extract on the decrease of thickness ( oedema ) in tpa - induced inflammation of mouse ears fig1 . effect of thylakoid extract and mesalamine of the physical parameters ( weight ) of inflamed rat intestine fig1 . effect of the addition of thylakoid extract in the potentiation of mesalamine to reduce tnbs - induced colonic damage the alveolar macrophage is one of the major inflammatory cells of the lung and plays an important role in a variety of diseases ( crystal , 1991 ). the macrophage protects the lung by regulating inflammatory and immune responses through cytokine production . however , these cytokines may also cause the tissue injury associated with many inflammatory diseases of the lung ( crystal , 1991 ). lipopolysaccharides ( lps ), a major component of the outer membrane of gram - negative bacteria is a potent activator of monocytes / macrophages that induces production of several cytokines , including the pro - inflammatory cytokine tumor necrosis factor ( tnf - α ) and anti - inflammatory cytokine interleukin - 10 ( il - 10 ) ( barnes and lim , 1998 ). inflammatory stimuli activate the transcription of nuclear factor κb ( nfκb ), resulting in the increased transcription of many inflammatory genes and the release of inflammatory mediators from macrophages such as tnf - α . the same stimuli cause the delayed synthesis of il - 10 , which inhibits the expression of these inflammatory - system genes , thus terminating the inflammatory response ( barnes and lim , 1998 ). in asthma , a chronic inflammatory disease of the airways , the il - 10 signal is reduced , leading to increased , lasting , and more pronounced inflammation . experiment 1 : the use of thylakoid extracts on tnf - α and il - 10 expression in alveolar macrophages induced by lps . rat alveolar macrophages ( cell line nr8383 ) were treated with thylakoid extracts ( 0 %, 0 . 0006 %, 0 . 003 %, and 0 . 006 %) in the presence of 10 ng / ml lps for 20 hours . tnf - α and il - 10 contents were measured using an immunoassay kit for rat tnf - α and il - 10 ( biosources , camarillo , calif .). tnf - α demonstrated a slight increase ( less than 15 %), when compared to the control , in all thylakoid concentrations used in this study ( fig1 ). il - 10 revealed a significant increase in expression when compared to the control . il - 10 expression was increased by a minimum of 137 % and as much as 162 % for the 0 . 0006 and 0 . 006 % thylakoid treatments , respectively ( fig1 ). the thylakoid extract has clearly demonstrated its modulation ability in cytokine expression and balance on alveolar macrophages . the thylakoid extract produced a limited increase ( less than 15 %) of the pro - inflammatory cytokine tnf - α while stimulating il - 10 expression greater than 2 - fold , when compared to the control . overall , these results confirmed a shift in cytokine balance towards the anti - inflammatory cytokine ( il - 10 ) when compared to tnf - α , demonstrating its potential as an inflammation modulator . sprague - dawley rat alveolar macrophages ( cell line nr8383 ) were treated with thylakoid extracts ( 0 %, 0 . 006 %, 0 . 05 %) in both an 18 - h pre - and 18 - h post - treatment in the presence of 100 ng / ml lps ( salmonella enteritidis ; sigma chemical co .) for various time periods ( 24 , 48 , and 72 h ) at 37 ° c . il - 10 and tnf - α levels were measured in cell free supernatants using elisa kits for rats ( pharmingen , san diego , calif .). results demonstrated that thylakoid extract stimulated the release of il - 10 in a dose - dependent manner when given in pre - and post - treatment to lps ( fig2 and 3 ). in contrast , tnf - α release was reduced by pre - treatment with thylakoid extract ( fig4 ), whereas tnf - α release was not affected by a post treatment ( fig5 ). these data suggest that thylakoid extract possesses cytokine modulation properties and has the ability to shift the balance of inflammatory cytokines towards anti - inflammatory cytokines such as il - 10 . the above - observed effects on alveolar macrophages lead to the assumption that the thylakoid extract is useful to treat a disease or disorder involving macrophages , or in the making of a medication for such a purpose . by simple extrapolation , it is even possible to envisage that a dose capable of achieving about 1 μg to 100 mg of the extract per liter of body fluid ( plasma , blood , extracellular water or total body water content , depending on the distribution ) could be effective for systemic purposes . a dose in the milligram range per liter of volume of distribution would be preferred . evaluation of topical application of thylakoid - comprising cream on physical and biochemical parameters of skin inflammation as previously mentioned , acute inflammation is associated with numerous diseases and disorders . among these diseases and disorders are skin inflammation that produces physiological observable characteristics such as redness and oedema , which are accompanied by biochemical parameters such the regulation of inflammatory cytokines . recognized means of evaluating acute inflammation and cytokine regulation are comparative studies involving treatments that induce inflammatory stress such as with arachidonic acid , which is a lipidic mediator of the inflammatory response , or phorbol 12 - myristate 13 - acetate ( griswold et al ., 1998 ) or such as with ultraviolet ( uv ) rays ( brink et al ., 2000 ). experiment 2 : the ability of the thylakoid extract in reducing or preventing the physical signs of inflammation was investigated on rat ears with arachidonic acid as the inflammation stress inducer . male wistar rats ( charles river laboratories ) were kept in individual cages , at 20 ° c . and 55 % relative humidity with 12 - h light / 12 - h dark cycle , in a facility that met the canadian council on animal care ( c . c . a . c .) guidelines . the rats were subjected to an 18 - hour starving period prior to treatments ; ( treatment 1 ) no application of cream ( n = 3 ); ( treatment - 2 ) neutral base cream ( n = 3 ); ( treatment - 3 ) thylakoid extract ( 0 . 01 %) in neutral base cream ( n = 3 ). all treatments were applied 16 hours , 8 hours , and 1 hour prior to the inflammatory stress ( pretreatment ) at a dose of 2 μl / cm 2 ( 20 μg / cm 2 ). following treatment , rat ears were subjected to an inflammatory stress by a topical application of arachidonic acid ( sigma chemicals co .). 30 μl of arachidonic acid ( 0 . 01 mg / μl ) in an acetone solution was applied . the arachidonic acid solution was reapplied 15 minutes after the initial application ( griswold et al ., 1998 ). the right ear of each rat was treated with arachidonic acid whereas the left ear served as the unstressed control . after one hour , the rats were sacrificed and a punch of 6 mm in diameter of both the left and right ears was sampled . ear punch thickness was measured by an electronic digital caliper 0 . 01 mm ( traceable ). arachidonic acid application caused an inflammatory effect in rat ears that were revealed by the presence of redness and oedema . results of oedema parameters indicate that thickness of rat ear punches decreased with a preventive application of thylakoid extracts . when compared with average ear punch thickness of the thylakoid extract treatment ( treatment 3 ), there was an increase of 138 . 0 % of thickness of the non - protected ear ( treatment - 1 ) and an 89 . 6 % increase of ear thickness in the neutral base cream ( treatment - 2 ) ( fig6 ). the thylakoid extract has an effect on the physical parameters associated with inflammation . the thylakoid extract reduces swelling of rat ears . theses results suggest that the thylakoid extract has a protective effect towards inflammation . experiment 3 . evaluation of thylakoid extract on the physical parameters of inflammation of skin inflammation induced with tpa . mice ( balb / c ) were kept in individual cages , at 20 ° c . and 55 % relative humidity with 12 - h light / 12 - h dark cycle , in a facility that met the canadian council on animal care ( c . c . a . c .) guidelines . the animals were subjected to an 18 - hour starving period prior to treatments . ( treatment 1 ) no application of cream ( n = 3 ); ( treatment - 2 ) neutral base cream ( n = 3 ); ( treatment - 3 ) thylakoid extract ( 0 . 05 %) in neutral base cream ( n = 3 ). all treatments were applied 16 hours , 8 hours , and 1 hour prior to the inflammatory stress ( pre - treatment ) at a dose of 2 μl / cm 2 . following treatment , mouse ears were subjected to an inflammatory stress by a topical application of phorbol 12 - myristate 13 - acetate ( tpa ) ( sigma chemicals co .). 20 μl of tpa ( 0 . 2 μg / μl ) in an acetone solution was applied ( griswold et al ., 1998 ). the right ear of each mouse was treated with tpa whereas the left ear served as the unstressed control . after one hour , the mice were sacrificed and a punch of 6 mm in diameter of both the left and right ears was sampled . ear punch thickness was measured by an electronic digital caliper 0 . 01 mm ( traceable ). tpa application caused an inflammatory effect in mouse ears that were revealed by the presence of redness and oedema . results of oedema parameters indicate that thickness of mouse ear punches decreased with a preventive application of thylakoid extracts . when compared with the average ear punch of the thylakoid extract treatment ( treatment - 3 ), there was a 8 - fold increase in thickness in the neutral base cream treatment ( treatment - 2 ) ( fig7 ). pre - treatment with thylakoid extract has an effect on the physical parameters associated with inflammation . the thylakoid extract reduces tpa - induced swelling of rat ears . experiment 4 . evaluation of thylakoid extract on the physical and biochemical parameters of inflammation of skin inflammation induced with tpa in absence of light . mice ( balb / c ) were kept in individual cages , at 20 ° c . and 55 % relative humidity with 12 - h light / 12 - h dark cycle , in a facility that met the canadian council on animal care ( c . c . a . c .) guidelines . the mice were subjected to an 18 - hour starving period prior to treatments . ( treatment - 1 ) no application of cream ( n = 3 ); ( treatment - 2 ) neutral base cream ( n = 3 ); ( treatment - 3 ) thylakoid extract ( 0 . 05 %) in neutral base cream ( n = 3 ). all treatments were applied 4 and 8 hours following the inflammatory stress ( post - treatment ) at a dose of 2 μl / cm 2 . animals were kept in the dark for the duration of the treatments . prior to treatment , mouse ears were subjected to an inflammatory stress by a topical application of phorbol 12 - myristate 13 - acetate ( tpa ) ( sigma chemicals co .). 20 μl of tpa ( 0 . 2 μg / μl ) in an acetone solution was applied ( griswold et al ., 1998 ). the right ear of each mouse was treated with tpa whereas the left ear served as the unstressed control . after 24 hours , the mice were sacrificed and a punch of 6 mm in diameter of both the left and right ears was sampled . ear punch thickness was measured by an electronic digital caliper 0 . 01 mm ( traceable ). tissue samples were assessed biochemically for the neutrophil marker enzyme , myeloperoxidase ( mpo ), using the method of romay et al . ( 1998 ). ear tissue was homogenized , submitted to 3 cycles of freezing / thawing , and centrifuged ( 2500 g for 30 min at 4 ° c .) and the resulting supernatant was assayed spectrophotometrically for mpo . the change in absorbance at 460 nm was measured . mpo activity data are presented as delta of absorbance ( degradation of hydroperoxide ). results of oedema parameters indicate that thickness of mouse ear punches decreased with post - treatment with thylakoid extracts . when compared with the average ear punch of the thylakoid extract treatment ( treatment - 3 ), there was a 26 . 5 % increase in thickness in the neutral base cream treatment ( treatment - 2 ) and a 52 . 8 % increase in the non - treated , stressed control ( treatment - 1 )( fig8 ). mpo assays revealed that there was a 109 . 7 % increase in mpo release in the non - treated control ( treatment - 1 ) when compared to the thylakoid protected treatment ( treatment - 3 ) ( fig9 ). post - treatment with thylakoid extract has an effect on the physical and biochemical parameters associated with inflammation . the thylakoid extract reduces tpa - induced swelling of mouse ears . furthermore , thylakoid extract significantly reduced mpo release , a measure of neutrophil activation , demonstrating its ability to decrease the inflammatory response . experiment 5 : the ability of the thylakoid extract in reducing or preventing the physical and biochemical signs of inflammation was investigated in mouse dorsal skin with uva and uvb as the inflammation stress inducer . hairless mice ( 5 weeks old ) were purchased from charles river laboratories ( wilmington , mass .). mice were housed at the animal facility of the institute for biological sciences ( ibs ) and maintained under standard conditions ( 23 ± 1 ° c ., 42 ± 6 % relative humidity , 12 : 12 - h light - dark cycle ). lights were automatically switched on daily at 7 am and switched off daily at 7 pm . mice were fed purina chow diet ( 24 % protein , 4 % fat , and 4 . 5 % fiber ) and water ad libitum . mice were randomly assigned into irradiation and treatment groups as follows : group i : uv - irradiated animals pre - treated with a preparation of topical ointment containing the thylakoid extract ( n = 5 ). group ii : animals received topical application of the cream containing the thylakoid extract during uv irradiation ( post - treated ) ( n = 5 ). group iii : uv - irradiated animals ( n = 5 ) treated with the preparation of topical ointment without the thylakoid extract . group iv : control a : uv - irradiated animals without any topical treatment ( n = 5 ). group v : control b ; non - irradiated animals without any topical treatment ( n = 5 ). mice were treated with 0 . 1 % thylakoid - comprising cream for a final application of 2 μl / cm 2 ( 200 μg / cm 2 ). the mice were placed in a plastic cage without a lid . two westinghouse fs40 sunlamps ( spectral irradiance : 280 - 400 nm , 80 % uvb and 20 % uva ). black ray ultraviolet meter was used for the measurement of intensity of light . the fluence at 60 cm from the dorsal surface of the mice was 0 . 48 - 0 . 50 mj / cm 2 . the mice were given a single exposure of 200 mj uv light / cm 2 ( acute dosage ) for 10 min . this approach has been adopted to take into account minor differences in uv absorption characteristics ( optical density differences ) in 290 - 320 nm range that might optically affect uv light irradiation conditions . after irradiation treatments , mice were kept under the conditions mentioned above for one week . epidermal observation and photographs were taken to assess redness and dryness . all the mice from each of the 5 groups were sacrificed . 1 cm 2 skin was then removed from each mouse and kept in liquid nitrogen . two skin pieces from each group were ground in liquid nitrogen and the powder was dissolved in ripa buffer containing a cocktail of protease and phosphatase inhibitors . the samples were homogenized in a mechanical homogenizer at 4 ° c . and centrifuged at 2500 rpm for 5 min at 4 ° c . the supernatants were used as cytosolic extracts to study the expression of various epidermal markers . samples containing 35 μg total proteins were subjected to protein separation by electrophoresis and the proteins were transferred on nitrocellulose membranes . western blots were analyzed following immuno - staining with antibodies against tnf - α ( rabbit polyclonal antibody ; santa cruz biotechnology inc .). results of skin irritation are summarized in table 1 . irradiated mice with a pre - or post - treatment of the thylakoid extract showed no skin irritation or symptoms of inflammation whereas irradiated mice without the extract ( with or without neutral base cream ) exhibited redness and dry skin . following irradiation , tnf - α was less abundant in both pre - and post - treated thylakoid extract treatments when compared to the non treated or neutral base cream treated mice ( fig1 ). the expression of the pro - inflammatory cytokine tnf - α in the thylakoid extract treated groups ( groups 1 and 2 ) is similar to those of the non - stressed control b , while it was increased by 150 . 0 % and 185 . 7 % in irradiated skin of animals non treated with the thylakoid extract ( group 3 ), when compared to the pre - and post - treatments with thylakoid extract , respectively . the thylakoid extract protected the animals from uv irradiation damages . even after one week , the non - protected irradiated mice continued to demonstrate redness and skin irritation whereas none of the thylakoid extract treated mice demonstrated these symptoms . the thylakoid extract clearly exerted a protective effect against inflammation induced by uv - irradiation of exposed mouse skin . it lowers the level of the pro - inflammatory cytokine tnf - α in irradiated mouse skin to a non - irradiated level . evaluation of thylakoid extract on the physical parameters of inflammation in rat intestine inflammatory bowel disease ( ibd ) is a term used to describe a collection of diseases that involve the bowel and are characterized by the production of chronic inflammation and at times ulceration in the small or large bowel . ibd is genetically determined by an overactive immune response . a defect in gut barrier function and / or immune deregulation appears to mediate this response ( sartor , 1998 ). this reflects the importance of balance between inflammatory and anti - inflammatory forces , and it correlates clinically with disease severity ( dionne et al ., 1998 ). among other events , tnf - alpha is stimulated and massive epithelial cell hyperplasia occurs ( higgins et al ., 1999 ). for example , crohn &# 39 ; s disease ( a particular case of ibd ) is associated with increased tnf - alpha and other inflammatory cytokine levels ( kmiec , 1998 ), leading to cytokine imbalance . ibd can be stimulated by recognized inflammatory agents such as trinitrobenzensulfonic acid ( tnbs ) through rectal administration of tnbs / ethanol enema or dextran sulfate sodium ( dss ) in distilled drinking water ( kirsner and shorter , 1995 ). experiment 6 . evaluation of thylakoid extract on the physical parameters of tnbs - induced inflammation in rat intestine male wistar rats ( charles river laboratories , montreal ) were kept in individual cages , at 20 ° c . and 55 % relative humidity with 12 - h light / 12 - h dark cycle , in a facility that met the canadian council on animal care ( c . c . a . c .) guidelines . the rats were subjected to a 24 - hour starving period prior to inflammatory stress induction . ( treatment 1 ) non - stressed control ( n = 3 ); ( treatment - 2 ) stressed control : 2 , 4 , 6 - trinitrobenzenesulfonic acid ( stress agent ) in the intestinal lumen ( n = 3 ); ( treatment - 3 ) intra - peritoneal administration of thylakoid extract ( 0 . 05 %), in 1 ml of saline solution ( 0 . 9 %), 24 and 48 hours prior to administration of the stress agent in the intestinal lumen ( n = 3 ). twenty - four hours later , the rats were sacrificed and a 10 cm excision of the intestine was sampled . samples were weighed and macroscopic colonic damage was scored by the following scale : 0 no damage 1 localized hyperemia , no ulcers 2 ulcerations without hyperemia of bowel wall thickening 3 ulceration with inflammation at one site 4 two or more sites of ulceration / inflammation 5 major sites of damage extending more than 1 cm along the length of colon 6 - 10 if damage extends more than 2 cm along length of colon , score is increased by one for each additional 1 cm a 50 . 0 % relative increase in intestine weight was observed in the stressed intestine when compared to the thylakoid - protected treatment ( fig1 ). moreover , tnbs colonic damage was reduced from 5 . 5 to 2 . 5 ( see scoring chart ) when protected with an intra - peritoneal administration of thylakoid extract ( fig1 ). intra - peritoneal administration ( 2 mg / kg ) of thylakoid extract has the ability to modulate the physical parameters of intestine inflammation by decreasing inflammation ( weight ) of stressed intestine and reducing / eliminating macroscopic evidence of hyperemia and ulceration . experiment 7 . evaluation of thylakoid extract on the physical parameters of dss - induced inflammation in rat intestine male wistar rats ( charles river laboratories , montreal ) were kept in individual cages , at 20 ° c . and 55 % relative humidity with 12 - h light / 12 - h dark cycle , in a facility that met the canadian council on animal care ( c . c . a . c .) guidelines . ( treatment 1 ) non - stressed control ( n = 3 ); ( treatment - 2 ) stressed control : dextran sulphate sodium ( dss ; stress agent ) in drinking water for a 5 - day period ( n = 3 ); ( treatment - 3 ) control treatment : intra - peritoneal administration of saline solution ( 0 . 9 %) daily for 5 days ( n = 3 ); ( treatment4 ) intra - peritoneal administration of thylakoid extract ( 0 . 05 %) in 1 ml saline solution ( 0 . 9 %) daily for 5 days ( n = 3 ). after the five - day period of treatments , the rats were sacrificed and a 10 cm excision of the intestine was sampled and weighed . dss caused chronic inflammation of rat intestine . intestine weight increased by 21 . 4 % in the control ( treatment - 3 ) when compared to the treatment containing 0 . 05 % of thylakoid extract ( treatment - 4 ) ( fig1 ). following a 5 - day chronic inflammation stress with dss , thylakoid extract ( 2 mg / kg ) was able to significantly reduce the physical manifestation of rat intestine inflammation . experiment 8 . evaluation of thylakoid extract on the physical parameters of carrageenan - induced rat foot inflammation ( oedema ) male sprague - dawley rats ( 250 g ), which had fasted overnight ( 18h ), received an intra - peritoneal injection of thylakoid extract 0 . 1 % ( in 1 ml of 0 . 9 % saline ) 1 h prior to subplantar injection of carrageenan ( 0 . 1 ml of 1 % suspension in 0 . 9 % saline ) in the right hind paw . the second dose of thylakoid extract was administrated simultaneously to the carrageenan injection ( romay et al ., 1998 ). paw thickness was measured from ventral to dorsal surfaces , with a dial calliper , immediately prior to carrageenan injection and 5 h later . oedema was expressed as the increase in paw thickness ( in mm ) measured after carrageeran injection and compared to the preinjection value for the individual animals . non - protected rat demonstrated a 45 . 7 % increase in foot oedema when compared to the thylakoid protected treatment ( fig1 ). in a classic carageenan test , thylakoid extract ( 4 mg / kg ) protected against the physical manifestation of foot oedema . experiment 9 . evaluation of thylakoid extract on the potentiation of budesonide in alveolar macrophages sprague - dawley rat alveolar macrophages ( cell line nr8383 ) were treated with thylakoid extracts ( 0 %, 0 . 006 %, 0 . 05 %) and / or budesonide ( 1 nm ; corticoid ) in both an 18 - h pre - and 18 - h post - treatment in the presence of 100 ng / ml lps ( salmonella enteritidis ; sigma chemical co .) for various time periods ( 24 , 48 , and 72 h ) at 37 ° c . il - 10 levels were measured in cell free supernatants using elisa kits for rats ( pharmingen , san diego , calif .). results demonstrated that thylakoid extract stimulated the release of il - 10 when given in pre - and post - treatment to lps in a synergistic and dose - dependent manner in combination with budesonide ( fig1 and 16 ). these data suggest that thylakoid extract possesses cytokine modulation properties and potentiates the effect of corticoid anti - inflammatory agents . budesonide contributes in the long term maintenance of high il - 10 levels , which provides a better anti - inflammatory effect . experiment 10 . evaluation of thylakoid extract on the potentiation of budesonide in mouse ears mice ( balb / c ) were kept in individual cages , at 20 ° c . and 55 % relative humidity with 12 - h light / 12 - h dark cycle , in a facility that met the canadian council on animal care ( c . c . a . c .) guidelines . the animals were subjected to an 18 - hour starving period prior to treatments . ( treatment - 1 ) no application of cream ( n = 3 ); ( treatment - 2 ) neutral base cream ( n = 3 ); ( treatment - 3 ) budesonide ( 0 . 1 %) in neutral base cream ( n = 3 ); ( treatment - 4 ) budesonide ( 0 . 01 %) in neutral base cream ( n = 3 ); ( treatment - 5 ) budesonide ( 0 . 01 %)+ thylakoid extract ( 0 . 05 %) in neutral base cream ( n = 3 ). all treatments were applied 4 and 8 hours following the inflammatory stress ( post - treatment ) at a dose of 2 μl / cm 2 . animals were kept in the dark for the duration of the treatments . prior to treatment , mouse ears were subjected to an inflammatory stress by a topical application of phorbol 12 - myristate 13 - acetate ( tpa ) ( sigma chemicals co .). 20 μl of tpa ( 0 . 2 μg / μl ) in an acetone solution was applied ( griswold et al ., 1998 ). the right ear of each mouse was treated with tpa whereas the left ear served as the unstressed control . after 24 hours , the mice were sacrificed and a punch of 6 mm in diameter of both the left and right ears was sampled . ear punch thickness was measured by an electronic digital caliper 0 . 01 mm ( traceable ). budesonide 0 . 1 % ( treatment - 3 ) decreased the thickness of mouse ear punches by 58 . 2 % when compared to the untreated control ( treatment - 1 ). budesonide 0 . 01 % ( treatment4 ) decreased thickness by 32 . 6 %. when thylakoid extract 0 . 05 % was co - applied with budesonide 0 . 01 % ( treatment - 5 ), the decrease in ear punch thickness was 51 . 8 % when compared to the untreated control ( treatment - 1 ). results are presented in fig1 . thylakoid extract 0 . 05 % potentiates the effect of budesonide . when thylakoid extract was co - applied with budesonide 0 . 01 %, the combined effect was equivalent to a dose of budesonide that was 10 - times higher ( 0 . 1 %). experiment 11 . evaluation of thylakoid extract on the potentiation of mesalamine in rat intestines male wistar rats ( charles river laboratories , montreal ) were kept in individual cages , at 20 ° c . and 55 % relative humidity with 12 - h light / 12 - h dark cycle , in a facility that met the canadian council on animal care ( c . c . a . c .) guidelines . the rats were subjected to a 24 - hour starving period prior to inflammatory stress induction . ( treatment - 1 ) non - stressed control ( n = 3 ); ( treatment - 2 ) 2 , 4 , 6 - trinitrobenzenesulfonic acid ( inflammatory agent ) in the intestinal lumen ( n = 3 ); ( treatment - 3 ) mesalamine ( 5 - aminosalicyclic acid ; nsaid ) ( 57 mg / kg ) administered directly in the intestinal lumen 24 and 48 hours prior to administration of the stress agent ( n = 3 ) ( treatment4 ) thylakoid extract ( 0 . 05 %) ( 2 mg / kg )+ mesalamine ( 57 mg / kg ) administered directly in the intestinal lumen 24 and 48 hours prior to administration of the stress agent ( n = 3 ). twenty - four hours later , the rats were sacrificed and a 10 cm excision of the intestine was sampled . samples were weighed and macroscopic colonic damage was scored by the following scale : the above results indicate that different types of inflammatory diseases models respond to the thylakoid extract alone or in combination with other anti - inflammatory agents . 0 no damage 1 localized hyperemia , no ulcers 2 ulcerations without hyperemia of bowel wall thickening 3 ulceration with inflammation at one site 4 two or more sites of ulceration / inflammation 5 major sites of damage extending more than 1 cm along the length of colon 6 - 10 if damage extends more than 2 cm along length of colon , score is increased by one for each additional 1 cm a 19 . 7 % relative increase in intestine weight was observed in the mesalamine - protected intestine when compared to the combined protection of mesalamine and thylakoid extract ( fig1 ). moreover , colonic damage was reduced from 4 . 0 to 3 . 0 ( see scoring chart ) when thylakoid extract was added to mesalamine in the intestinal lumen ( fig1 ). the addition 2 mg of thylakoid extract in the intestinal lumen per kg animal body weight has the ability to complete the effects of mesalamine by decreasing inflammation ( weight ) of stressed intestine and reducing macroscopic evidence of hyperemia and ulceration . decreasing the doses of mesalamine should confirm that the thylakoid extract potentiates mesalamine - induced effects . the above results indicate that different types of inflammatory disease models respond to the thylakoid extract alone or in combination with other anti - inflammatory agents . in view of the foregoing results , the thylakoids extract is useful for the treatment of inflammation caused by a diversity of pro - inflammatory stimuli or of etiological components . although the present invention has been described hereinabove by way of preferred embodiments thereof , it can be modified , without departing from the spirit and nature of the subject invention as defined in the appended claims . barnes , p g , and lim , s . 1998 . inhibitory cytokines in asthma . mol . med . today . october pages 452 - 458 . berg d j , leach m w , kuhn r , rajewsky k , muller w , davidson n j , rennick d . 1995 . interleukin 10 but not interleukin 4 is a natural suppressant of cutaneous inflammatory responses . j exp med . 182 : 99 - 108 . brink , n , szamel , m , young , a r , wittern , k p , and bergemann , j . 2000 . comparative quantification of il - 10 β , il - 10 , il - 10r , tnf - α and il - 7 mrna levels in uv - irradiated human skin in vivo . inflamm . res . 49 : 290 - 296 . crystal , r g . 1991 . alveolar macrophages . in : crystal , r g and weast , j b , ( eds ). the lung : scientific foundation . raven press , ny . pages 527 - 538 . daemen , m a , van de ven , m w , heineman , e , buurman , w a . 1999 . involvement of endogenous interleukin - 10 and tumor necrosis factor - alpha in renal ischemia - reperfusion injury . transplantation 67 : 792 - 800 . deckert m , soltek s , geginat g , lutjen s , montesinos - rongen m , hof h , schluter d . 2001 . endogenous interleukin - 10 is required for prevention of a hyperinflammatory intracerebral immune response in listeria monocytogenes meningoencephalitis . infect immun . 69 : 4561 - 4571 dionne s , d &# 39 ; 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