Nociceptin/Orphanin FQ Antagonists Ameliorate the Disease Pathogenesis During Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Introduction

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), primarily Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, affect 1-1.5 million people in the United States, with estimated annual medical costs of about $18,500 per patient. The disease is commonly thought to be mediated by an uncontrolled autoimmune response against the bowel, although the etiology is not absolutely clear. As of current, no cure is available for IBD. Nociceptin/Orphanin FQ (N/OFQ) is a neuropeptide that has been hypothesized to be a stimulator of inflammation, and the N/OFQ receptor is expressed at high levels in the bowel. We evaluated the therapeutic potential of N/OFQ antagonists in C57Bl/6 mice in an IBD model after disease induction by treatment for 5 days with DSS, and subsequent observation of the IBD pathogenesis[…]