Integrin Inhibitors for Ulcerative Colitis Treatment

Ulcerative colitis is a diffuse, non-specific inflammatory bowel disease of unknown etiology with recurrent relapse and remission. The mechanisms of immune-mediated inflammation as a pathogenesis of ulcerative colitis have been increasingly elucidated, leading to development of biological agents and low-molecular-weight agents that target specific molecules or disease processes.

Integrin inhibitors impede ulcerative colitis pathogenesis by selectively inhibiting integrin, an adhesion molecule expressed on leukocytes, thereby suppressing lymphocyte infiltration into gastrointestinal tissues and controlling excessive immune responses at the inflammation site: the intestinal tract.

This article describes the mechanism of integrin inhibitors' action, the usefulness, and positioning of vedolizumab and carotegrast methyl, which are currently available for clinical use to treat ulcerative colitis, and the status of integrin inhibitor development.