Claims for Patent: 6,010,722

Summary for Patent: 6,010,722

Title:	Oral remedy for rheumatoid arthritis and functional food
Abstract:	Oral drugs and functional foods of the present invention contain type-II collagen denatured (fragmented) under specific conditions. Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) has been considered to be an autoimmune disease against type-II collagen as an antigen. Since denatured type-II collagen of the invention induces high oral immune tolerance and inhibits immune responses against type-II collagen, it can prevent and treat RA. Particularly, RA can effectively be prevented and treated by simple oral administration of type-II collagen.
Inventor(s):	Matsumoto; Takashi (Tsukuba, JP), Taguchi; Yasuki (Tsukuba, JP), Fujita; Kotaro (Tsukuba, JP), Ametani; Akio (Tokyo, JP), Kaminogawa; Syuichi (Kasukabe, JP), Nakagami; Masayo (Nishinomiya, JP)
Assignee:	Nippon Meat Packers, Inc. (Osaka, JP)
Application Number:	08/981,086
Patent Claims:	1. A functional food containing a type-II collagen denatured thermally under acidic or alkaline conditions or enzymatically with a site-specific proteolytic enzyme. 2. A functional food claimed in claim 1, wherein the type-II collagen denatured thermally is prepared by healing type-II collagen for 10 min or more at 60.degree. C. or higher, and that the type-II collagen denatured enzymatically is prepared by heating the type-II collagen for 10 min or more at 30.degree. C. or higher, to unfold the steric structure of the triple-stranded helix of .alpha. 1(II)-polypeptide chains, and then processing unfolded type-II collagen with a site-specific proteolytic enzyme. 3. The functional food claimed in claim 2, wherein said proteolytic enzyme is chymotrypsin, collagenase, endoproteinase, thrombin or trypsin. 4. The functional food claimed in claim 3, wherein said proteolytic enzyme is trypsin. 5. The functional food claimed in claim 1, in which conditions for thermal denaturation comprise heating at a pH between 2.0 and 4.5 or between 10.0 and 12.0, at a temperature between 100 and 120.degree. C., for a period between 10 and 15 min. 6. The functional food claimed in claim 1, in which type-It collagen originates from a mammal, bird, reptile or fish. 7. The functional food claimed in claim 6, wherein said mammal is a cow, pig, coat, sheep, horse, human, monkey, rabbit, mouse or rat, said bird is a chicken, turkey or ostrich, said reptile is a turtle or snake, and said fish is a tuna, bonito, salmon, shark or ray. 8. The functional food claimed in claim 1, wherein said proteolytic enzyme is chymotrypsin, collagenase, endoproteinase, thrombin or trypsin. 9. The functional food claimed in claim 8, wherein said proteolytic enzyme is trypsin. 10. The method of treating rheumatoid arthritis comprising administering a therapeutically effective amount of a type-II collagen which has been thermally denatured under acidic or alkaline condition or enzymatically denatured with a site-specific proteolytic enzyme. 11. The method claimed in claim 10, wherein said proteolytic enzyme is chymotrypsin, collagenase, endoproteinase, thrombin or trypsin. 12. The method claimed in claim 11, wherein proteolytic enzyme is trypsin.

Details for Patent 6,010,722

Applicant	Tradename	Biologic Ingredient	Dosage Form	BLA	Approval Date	Patent No.	Expiredate
Smith & Nephew, Inc.	SANTYL	collagenase	Ointment	101995	06/04/1965		2015-06-13