Abstract
Immune cell trafficking is a critical element of the intestinal immune response, both in homeostasis and in pathological conditions associated with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). This process involves adhesion molecules, chemoattractants and receptors expressed on immune cell surfaces, blood vessels and stromal intestinal tissue as well as signalling pathways, including those modulated by sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P). The complex biological processes of leukocyte recruitment, activation, adhesion and migration have been targeted by various monoclonal antibodies (vedolizumab, etrolizumab, ontamalimab). Promising preclinical and clinical data with several oral S1P modulators suggest that inhibition of lymphocyte egress from the lymph nodes to the bloodstream might be a safe and efficacious alternative mechanism for reducing inflammation in immune-mediated disorders, including Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. Although various questions remain, including the potential positioning of S1P modulators in treatment algorithms and their long-term safety, this novel class of compounds holds great promise. This Review summarizes the critical mediators and mechanisms involved in immune cell trafficking in IBD and the available evidence for efficacy, safety and pharmacokinetics of S1P receptor modulators in IBD and other immune-mediated disorders. Further, it discusses potential future approaches to incorporate S1P modulators into the treatment of IBD.
Key points
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Sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P) is a pleiotropic and widely expressed bioactive molecule belonging to the sphingolipid family that binds to five receptors (found on numerous cell types) with varying affinities.
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Oral S1P modulators have been tested in multiple immune-mediated disorders.
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Cardiotoxicity of the non-selective S1P agonist fingolimod has led to the development of more selective compounds, including ozanimod and etrasimod.
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Ozanimod and etrasimod have been shown to be safe and efficacious for the treatment of patients with inflammatory bowel disease.
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Future treatment approaches including S1P modulators should be explored, such as combination therapy with approved biologic agents, as well as the identification of predictive biomarkers to facilitate personalized therapy.
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Change history
07 March 2022
A Correction to this paper has been published: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41575-022-00597-8
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Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank L. Petti for granting permission to re-use her figure in our manuscript (Fig. 2 Overview of S1P metabolism), and L. M. Shackelton for critical technical review and editing.
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B.V. reports financial support for research from Pfizer; lecture fees from Abbvie, Biogen, Chiesi, Falk, Ferring, Galapagos, Janssen, MSD, Pfizer, R-Biopharm, Takeda and Truvion; and consultancy fees from Janssen, Guidepont and Sandoz; these activities were all outside of the submitted work. A.S. reports research grants from Roche-Genentech, Abbvie, GSK, Scipher Medicine, Alimentiv (formerly Robarts Clinical Trials) and Boehringer Ingelheim and consulting fees from Genentech, GSK, Pfizer, HotSpot Therapeutics, Surrozen, and Morphic Therapeutic. M.D. reports advisory fees from Echo Pharma and Alimentiv (formerly Robarts Clinical Trials); speaker fees from Janssen, Merck & Co., Pfizer, Takeda and Tillotts Pharma; and non-financial support from Dr. Falk Pharm; these activities were all outside of the submitted work. N.V.C. reports research grants and personal fees from R-Biopharm, Takeda, and UCB and personal fees from Alimentiv (formerly Robarts Clinical Trials), Celltrion and Prometheus; these activities were all outside of the submitted work. N.V.C. holds a Research Scholar Award from the American Gastroenterological Association and this project was, in part, supported by the Digestive Diseases Research Center grant NIH DK120515. Alimentiv (formerly Robarts Clinical Trials) is an academic gastrointestinal contract research organization (CRO), operating under the Alimentiv Health Trust. Alimentiv provides centralized imaging management solutions in clinical trials, including endoscopy, histopathology and magnetic resonance imaging. Alimentiv provides full service CRO capabilities as well as precision medicine services. A.S., M.D. and N.V.C. as well as Alimentiv Translational Research Consortium Member Authors listed in Supplementary Box 1, including G.D’H., B.G.F., V.J., C.M. and W.J.S., are consultants, and have neither equity positions nor shares in the corporation. The other authors declare no competing interests.
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Verstockt, B., Vetrano, S., Salas, A. et al. Sphingosine 1-phosphate modulation and immune cell trafficking in inflammatory bowel disease. Nat Rev Gastroenterol Hepatol 19, 351–366 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41575-021-00574-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41575-021-00574-7
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