Fewer side effects, greater efficacy: Ewha Womans University develops ‘next-generation nanomedicine’ for chronic enteritis

[Financial News] A research team led by Yong-Hyun Lee of the Department of Pharmacy at Ewha Womans University has developed an oral nanotherapy that reduces the side effects of steroid treatments used for chronic inflammatory bowel disease and substantially improves treatment efficacy, the university said on the 15th.
Inflammatory bowel disease is a difficult-to-treat condition that causes chronic inflammation through persistent dysfunction of the intestinal barrier, imbalances in gut microbes, and abnormal immune responses. Steroid drugs, which have primarily been used to treat the disease, are highly effective at suppressing inflammation. However, long-term use can cause systemic side effects or damage intestinal epithelial cells.
The research team overcame these problems by loading methylprednisolone, a steroid-based immunosuppressant, into hyaluronic acid-bilirubin nanoparticles that protect the intestines. The strategy is complementary: the nanoparticles’ protective effect on the intestinal epithelium reduces steroid-induced intestinal damage, while the steroids’ pharmacological effects make up for the nanoparticles’ limited ability to regulate the immune system.
The newly developed nanomedicine prevents the drug from being released prematurely in the gastrointestinal tract when taken orally and helps concentrate the steroid specifically in inflamed colon tissue. When the research team tested it in an animal model of colitis, the amount of steroid spreading throughout the body decreased, and thymic atrophy—a key indicator of systemic side effects—was alleviated. At the same time, even at low drug doses, the treatment substantially improved intestinal barrier protection, immune regulation, and the gut microbial environment.
Professor Yong-Hyun Lee of Ewha Womans University said, “The key to this research is not simply combining the benefits of steroids and nanomedicines, but designing a treatment system in which each compensates for the limitations of the other.” He added, “The research is significant because it shows that inflammatory bowel disease—in which intestinal barrier damage, immune dysfunction, and microbiome imbalance affect one another—can be addressed simultaneously. We expect this complementary nanomedicine design strategy to also be used for a range of chronic inflammatory diseases.”
The international collaborative study also involved Professor James Moon of the University of Michigan and Professor Kim Seong-eun of Ewha Womans University Mokdong Hospital. The findings were published in the international drug-delivery journal Journal of Controlled Release.

[email protected] Kim Man-gi Reporter