Treatment of gluten intolerance and related conditions
Provided herein are compositions, foods comprising nepenthesin or a derivative thereof and methods of using nepenthesin or a derivative thereof for modulating gluten intolerance and related conditions, such as celiac disease. Further provided herein are pharmaceutical compositions comprising nepenthesin or a derivative thereof and methods of using nepenthesin or a derivative thereof to treat bacterial infections of the gastrointestinal tract, such as C. difficile or H. pylori . Further provided herein are compositions comprising recombinant nepenthesin I or nepenthesin II, or homologous proteins, and methods for making the same.
1. A method for treating or attenuating gluten intolerance in a patient in need thereof, comprising administering to said patient an effective amount of nepenthesin, wherein said nepenthesin comprises an amino acid sequence that is at least 85% identical to the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO: 3, SEQ ID NO: 4, SEQ ID NO: 5, SEQ ID NO: 6, or SEQ ID NO: 7, wherein the nepenthesin has protease activity.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the nepenthesin is without a plant signal sequence.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the protease activity is at a pH where the protease is active against gluten.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the protease activity is aspartic protease activity.
5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the effective amount of said nepenthesin is sufficient to degrade gluten to treat or attenuate gluten intolerance.
6. The method of claim 1 , wherein said nepenthesin is administered to the patient prior to ingestion of a food comprising gluten or suspected of comprising gluten.
7. The method of claim 1 , wherein said nepenthesin is administered to the patient with ingestion of a food comprising gluten or suspected of comprising gluten.
8. The method of claim 1 , wherein said nepenthesin is administered to the patient after ingestion of a food comprising gluten or suspected of comprising gluten.
9. The method of claim 1 , wherein said nepenthesin is mixed with food comprising gluten or suspected of comprising gluten prior to consumption of the food by the patient.
10. The method of claim 9 , wherein the food prior to consumption is at a pH wherein said nepenthesin is inactive.
11. The method of claim 10 , wherein the pH is 5 or above.
12. The method of claim 9 , wherein the mixture of nepenthesin and food comprising gluten or suspected of comprising gluten is not heated to conditions in which said nepenthesin is inactivated prior to consumption.