PHARMACEUTICAL COMPOSITION FOR TREATING BONE DISEASES WHICH COMPRISES PROTEIN COMPRISING Frizzled1, Frizzled2 OR Frizzled7 EXTRACELLULAR CYSTEINE-RICH DOMAIN

Abstract

This invention relates to a pharmaceutical composition for treatment of a bone disease comprising, as an active ingredient, a protein comprising an extracellular cysteine-rich domain, which is from the Frizzled receptor selected from the group consisting of mammalian animal-derived Frizzled 1, Frizzled 2, and Frizzled 7 and has activity of increasing bone mass, bone density, and / or bone strength, or a mutant of such domain having sequence identity of 85% or higher to the amino acid sequence of the domain and having activity of increasing bone mass, bone density, and / or bone strength, or a vector comprising a nucleic acid encoding the protein.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD[0001]The present invention relates to a novel application of a therapeutic agent for a bone disease comprising a protein comprising the extracellular cysteine-rich domain of Frizzled 1, Frizzled 2, or Frizzled 7, which is known as a Wnt ligand receptor protein, or a mutant of the domain.[0002]This finding resulted from analysis of properties of a knock-in mouse expressing the Frizzled extracellular cysteine-rich domain and a mouse to which a protein comprising the Frizzled extracellular cysteine-rich domain had been administered.BACKGROUND ART[0003]A super-aging society has arrived, the number of people with osteoporosis has increased, and bone fractures resulting therefrom have come to constitute a serious issue of concern at a societal level. In particular, patients with femoral neck fractures and vertebral body fractures become bedridden, which causes significant deterioration of the quality of life thereof, and the social, medical, and economic burdens caused by ...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0052]The present invention can increase bone mass, bone density, and / or bone strength. Accordingly, a disease involving lowering of bone mass, bone density, and / or bone strength, such as a bone disease resulting from osteoporosis, osteoarthritis, articular rheumatism, malignant tumors, or other diseases and various bone diseases or disorders associated therewith can be treated without causing side effects.

Problems solved by technology

A super-aging society has arrived, the number of people with osteoporosis has increased, and bone fractures resulting therefrom have come to constitute a serious issue of concern at a societal level.

In particular, patients with femoral neck fractures and vertebral body fractures become bedridden, which causes significant deterioration of the quality of life thereof, and the social, medical, and economic burdens caused by care and hospital treatment have increased (Tosteson, A. N., et al., Osteoporos Int., 12, 1042-1049, 2001; and Yoh, K., et al., J. Bone Miner. Metab., 23, 167-173, 2005).

Advanced articular disorders are treated via artificial joint replacement; however, radical treatment of moderate or milder symptoms has not yet been reported (Nampei, A.

Articular synovial proliferation gradually causes infiltration of cartilage or bones in the vicinity thereof, and articular rheumatism often leads to destruction and deformation of joints.

It has been reported that treatment with the use of an antirheumatic drug (methotrexate) cannot sufficiently inhibit the progress of joint destruction, and a biological agent targeting a tumor necrosis factor (TNF) α produces significant effects of inhibiting joint destruction.

However, increased incidence, as a side effect, of opportunistic infection, tuberculosis (extrapulmonary tuberculosis), Pneumocystis pneumonia, or the like when using such agent is an issue of concern (Soen, S., The Bone, 22, 3, 103-107, 2008).

Hypercalcemia causes loss of appetite and diuresis, and it causes dehydration and renal failure caused thereby.

While bone metastasis is hardly ever fatal by itself, it causes bone ache, pathologic fracture, neuroparalysis, or the like.

When secondary hyperparathyreosis advances, hypercalcemia also becomes an issue of concern.

Treatment of mineralization of advanced lesions in patients with chronic renal failures remains difficult at present and the prognosis thereof is poor (Fujiu, A. et al., Rinsho Toseki (the Japanese Journal of Clinical Dialysis), 24, 43-50, Nihon Medical Center, Japan, 2008).

In order to overcome such problems, estrogen preparations have been used; however, application thereof has been restricted due to the increased risk of thrombosis and breast cancer caused by the use of such preparations.

It is also reported that use of a selective estrogen receptor modulator would increase the risk of deep vein thrombosis (Wada, S., et al., Mebio, 25, 8, 89-95, 2008).

However, the FDA warned of crises of severe skeletal, articular, or muscular pain in 2008 as problems of bisphosphonate preparations.

Treatment via intermittent administration of PTH alone as an osteogenesis accelerator that activates osteoblasts has been conducted (Teriparatide, Eli Lilly; an unapproved drug in Japan), but such agent is not different from other therapeutic agents, such as bisphosphonate preparations, in that activity of increasing cortical bone thickness is not very high compared with activity of increasing cancellous bone mass.

(Japan) has reported problems, such as side effects such as palpitation, tachycardia, and a lowering in blood pressure, and osteosarcoma observed in a long-term administration test to rats, unapproved continuous use thereof for 1.5 to 2 years or longer in Europe and the United States, and prohibited application thereof to cancer patients.

Thus, it is impossible to use PTH for inhibition of cancer bone metastasis, treatment of cancer-induced hypercalcemia (paraneoplastic humoral hypercalcemia or local osteolytic hypercalcemia caused by the parathyroid-hormone-related peptide produced by tumor cells), or other purposes.

Symptoms include bone and joint pains, such as chiropodalgia, arthralgia, lumbago, and backache, which lead to gait impairment and to a state in which bone is easily fractured.

If the level of dysfunction caused by a deformity is high, however, surgical operation is the only possible symptomatic treatment.

In order to achieve tough bone that is more resistant to fracture, accordingly, a mere increase in bone mass may not be sufficient.

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