The present invention relates to use of extract of leeches.

Today, the infection by resistant bacteria is a more and more serious public sanitary problem. Many bacterial lines became resistant to most kinds of currently disposable antibiotic treatments. It becomes a real challenge to find new antibacterial agents to fight against resistant bacteria, particularly in the frame of fighting against nosocomial infections. The market for new antibacterial agents is estimated to be 5 billion dollars in US.

In industrial domain, elimination of bacteria is effected, up to now, by long, heavy and expensive processes, such as cleaning operation and large scale disinfection. However, said processes are sometimes not efficient. Furthermore, since more and more drastic norms, such as norms "REACH" or "BIOCIDES", enter in force, the number of usable products considerably decrease. For example, FDA has recently limited the use of certain components, such as Triclosan, that generates important bacterial resistance. Furthermore, most of antibacterial agents used up to now are not natural and able to provoke environmental problems, linked to the difficulty of elimination of these agents.

Food infection is another public healthy problem linked to the contamination of the food by pathogenic bacteria such as Salmonellae, Listeria monocytogenes, Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus cereus, Enterococcus fecalis or Campylobacter jejuni. The incidence of food infection, that is frequent in the developing countries, is also increasing in the developed countries.

Recently, researchers have turned to new biological source based on new mechanisms, and subsequently several new antibacterial agents that would not provoke bacterial resistance have been found.

The antimicrobial peptides (AMP) is a kind of natural antibiotic, not immunogenic and produced by plants or animals having a special mode of action and activity. They generally react at level of bacterial membranes and do not favor the apparition of resistant bacterial lines. Among the AMP present in the market, recombinant plectasin, for example, is used for fighting against the Gram+ bacteria, particularly against Streptococcus pneumonia, a kind of bacteria known for its resistance to classic antibiotherapy. Other AMPs, such as the Pexiganan, are today in clinical phase 3. Said compound, derived from magainin of amphibians, targets the treatment of impetigo and stomach ulcer. Other compoounds may be cited like isaganan, derived from porcine protegrin for the treatment of oesophagitis or stomach ulcer, or Neuprex issued from human protein rBP123, or still Ominagan, issued from indolicin, for the treatment of infection linked to the use of catheters.

The history of use of leeches of species Hirudo medicinalis in medicine goes back to the 18 ^th Egyptian dynasty. In the 19 ^th century in France, leeches have been used in the treatment of pharyngitis, ophthalmic problems, obesity, and mental disorders. During the treatment, leeches were directly placed on the abdomen of patient. Later, the treatment by leeches was failing into disuse until the fifties of the last century. For example, in 1948, leeches were used by P.Durand, P.Viard and R. Vendel in the treatment of asthma.

Today, with the development of microsurgery, leeches are generally used in hospitals during a plastic or traumato logical surgery to resolve many problems due to the insufficiency of venous drainage. The survival of a reimplanted tissue depends on the efficiency of venous return. However, it is very difficult to establish a venous return since it is more difficult to stitch a vein than an artery. Certain surgeons then consider local application of leeches to resolve this problem. By their suction, leeches stimulate drainage of tissue in danger of necrosis. They favor also the restoration of capillaries match between the faces of a wound where a surgical surture is technically impossible.

In 2003, German researchers found that leech therapy can help relieve symptoms in patients with osteoarthritis of the knee by directly placing leeches on the knees of patients (Michalsen et al, Ann intern Med. 2003; 139: 724-730).

However, leech therapy used up to now, using living organisms, presents a potential infection risk, especially when there is an enter gate, such as a leech bite. In 1983, Whitlock et al. (Br J Plast Surg 1983; 36: 240-3) suggested for the first time the possibility of subcutanous infection caused by Aeromonas hydrophila, a kind of Gram negative aerobic bacteria, by the intermediate of leech therapy. This kind of bacteria exists in intestinal flora of leeches and digests the red blood cells taken by leeches. This bacterium is also linked to two types of gastroenteritis. The first type is a disease similar to cholera, which causes rice-water diarrhea. The other type of disease is dysenteric gastroenteritis, which causes loose stools filled with blood and mucus.

Aeromonas hydrophila is not the only pathogen presents in leeches that can provoke an infection. A small quantity of Gram negative bacillus including Pseudomonas and a tiny proportion of anaerobic germ can also be found on the surface of leeches.

Disinfection of leeches before leech therapy is generally effected by immersion of leeches in antibiotic solution and then rinsing by sterile water. However, this method can not always efficiently disinfect leeches. Sometimes, it causes also allergy in patient and affects the suction capacity of leeches.

The patent application FR2834292 reports the use of leeches extract as anticoagulant, antiinflammatory or thrombolytic agents.

The patent application FR2834293 presents the use of extract prepared from starved leeches as antinarcotic, antistress or antiinflammatory agent.

The patent application FR2843883 concerns non-irritating leech extract, having antiinflammatory and/or antipsoriatic activity, obtained by suspending homogenized crude extract in saline, incubating and recovering supernatant.

In summary, these prior patent applications provide only information about antiinflammatory and anticoagulant activity of leeches extract, in particular saliva extract.

However, there is still an important need to find a new, safe, natural antibacterial agent that on the one hand does not provoke bacterial resistance and on the other hand does not have the drawback relating to the operation of living organisms.

Recently, in the frame of studies relating to the development of diagnostic tools for osteoarthritis, the Inventors of the present invention have surprisingly found that osteoarthritis has a bacterial origin, and discovered that leeches extract exposes high anti-bacterial property.

In the previous works, the Inventors have found 4 new antimicrobial peptides in central nervous system of leeches. Now, the Inventors find that antibacterial agents are also present in leeches' saliva.

The first aspect of the present invention relates to leeches extract for its use in the treatment of bacterial illnesses.

According to the present invention, leeches extract can be obtained from homogenised tissues from the whole leech as well as any part of the leech, in particular from salivary glands, said homogenised tissues showing antibacterial activity.

Leeches used in the present invention can be any hematophagous leeches, in particular the Hirudinidea e.g. Hirudo medicinalis, Hirudo verbena, Hirudinaria mallinensis, Haemopis marmorata, Macrobdella decora .

In an advantageous embodiment, the leeches extract is used for the treatment of diseases of the group comprising bacterial origin arthritis, foodborne illnesses caused by a pathogenic bacteria or nosocomial infections.

According to the invention, bacterial origin arthritis comprises osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, or septic arthritis. According to the present invention, foodborne illnesses mean food infection caused by the presence of bacteria, for example, Campylobacter jejuni, Salmonellas, Listeria monocytogenes, Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus cereus, Enterococcus fecalis, or other microbes which infect the body after consumption of food.

According to the present invention, nosocomial infections mean infections which are the result of treatment in a hospital or a healthcare service unit, but secondary to the patient's original condition. Infections are considered nosocomial if they first appear 48 hours or more after hospital admission or within 30 days after discharge. This type of infection is also known as a hospital-acquired infection (or more generically healthcare-associated infection).

Nosocomial infections are often caused by Gram-positive bacteria, such as

Staphylococcus aureus, Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus, Clostridium difficile, Vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus, or Gram-negative bacteria, such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Acinetobacter baumannii, Legionella, or mycobacteria. As nosocomial infections, we can recite as example without limitation, ventilator associated pneumonia, hospital-acquired tuberculosis, hospital-acquired urinary tract infection, hospital-acquired pneumonia or hospital-acquired gastroenteritis.

In another advantageous embodiment, the leeches extract of the present invention is used for the treatment of diseases caused by bacteria belonging to biological agents of class II or class III.

The biological agents are classified in 4 classes according to the importance of risk of propagation that they represent.

Class I is the biological agent which is not susceptible to provoke a disease in human. Class II is the biological agent which can provoke a disease in human and constitute a danger for the public, but which propagation in the community is improbable. There is generally a prophylaxis or an efficient treatment for this disease.

Class III is the biological agent which can provoke a disease in human and constitute a serious danger for the public, and which has a risk of propagation in community. However there is generally a prophylaxis or an efficient treatment for this disease.

Class IV is the biological agent which provokes diseases in human and constitutes a serious danger for the pubic, and which has a high risk of propagation in community. There is not generally any prophylaxis or efficient treatment for these diseases.

In a more advantageous embodiment, bacteria of class II or class III are selected from the group consisting of Acinetobacter thyphimirium, Salmonella thyphimirium, Alcaligenes faealis, Haemophillus influenzae, Shewanella, Escherichia coli, Aerococcus viridans, Microcuccus luteus, Staphylocuccus, saprophyticus.

Another aspect of the invention is the use of leeches extract as a cleaning product.

In an advantageous embodiment, said cleaning product is selected from the group consisting of a hospital disinfectant product or a general household disinfectant such as a window cleaner, a bathroom cleaner, a kitchen cleaner, a floor cleaner, a laundry detergent, a cleaning supply, a fruit and a vegetable wash, and a fabric softener.

Another aspect of the present invention is the use of leeches extract as anti-bacterial agent in a cosmetic composition.

In an advantageous embodiment, the leeches extract used in the present invention is a leeches saliva extract. According to the invention an extract of saliva means crude saliva, purified saliva or any substance isolated from the saliva so long as it shows the antibacterial activity.

Saliva of leeches may be extracted according to any conventional method, for example, the method of Bligh. E.J. and Dyer. H.J. (Biochem, physiol. 37, 911-917 (1959)).

In a more advantageous embodiment, the leeches extract used in the present invention is a purified leeches extract.

Purified leeches saliva extract may be obtained according to any conventional process, for example by the following method:

- extract leeches saliva in large quantity according to a conventional method,

- sterilize leeches saliva by any conventional method, such as by UV, and optionally

- purify leeches saliva by any conventional method, such as by chromatography.

Another aspect of the invention concerns a pharmaceutical composition comprising leeches saliva extract for its use in the treatment of bacterial illnesses.

In an advantageous embodiment, the pharmaceutical composition is used for the treatment of diseases selected from the group comprising bacterial origins arthritis, such as osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, or septic arthritis, or foodborne illnesses caused by a pathogenic bacteria or nosocomial infections.

In a more advantageous embodiment, the nosocomial infections are caused by a kind of bacteria selected from the group consisting of bacteria (gram +, gram -) or mycobacteria.

In another more advantageous embodiment, the pharmaceutical composition acts against the bacteria of Class II and/or of Class III.

In a particularly more advantageous embodiment, the bacteria is selected from the group consisting of Acinetobacter thyphimirium, Salmonella thyphimirium, Alcaligenes faealis, Haemophillus influenzae, Shewanella, Escherichia coli, Aerococcus viridans, Microcuccus luteus, Staphylocuccus, saprophyticus, Helicobacter pyroli.

According to the invention, the pharmaceutical composition can comprise, besides of leeches extract, any other active substances, for example an anti-inflammatory agent, or other antibacterial agents.

The anti-inflammatory agent comprised in said pharmaceutical composition can be an anti-inflammatory agent known to one skilled in the art, such as steroids of synthetic or natural origin, non steroidal anti-inflammatory agent, and an anti-inflammatory peptides from vegetable or animal origin, such as from leeches.

The antibacterial agents can also be any agent known from the art.

According to the present invention, the pharmaceutical composition can also contain a pharmaceutical acceptable carrier, or diluents, emulsifiers, adjuvants and vehicles as desired.

According to the present invention, the pharmaceutical composition may be administrated by topical route, enteral route or parenteral route by injection or infusion.

According to the present invention, the pharmaceutical composition can be manufactured in a liquid form, such as an injection, a spray, or in a solid form, such as a cream, patches, tablets, capsules.

Another aspect of the present invention concerns a cleaning product comprising leeches saliva extract.

In an advantageous embodiment of the invention, a cleaning product comprising leeches saliva extract as anti-bacterial agent is selected from the group consisting of a hospital disinfectant and a general household disinfectant, such as a window cleaner, a bathroom cleaner, a kitchen cleaner, a floor cleaner, a laundry detergent, a cleaning supply, a fruit and a vegetable wash, and a fabric softener.

Said cleaning product can comprise also any conventional antistatic agents and surfactants.

Another object of the invention is a method for treating or preventing diseases selected from osteoarthritis, foodborne illnesses caused by a pathogenic bacteria or nosocomial infections, said method comprising administration of an extract of leeches to a patient in need thereof.

The invention is illustrated by the following example.

Example

Test of antimicrobial activity of crude extract of leeches' saliva 50μ1 of crude extract of leeches' saliva are added to 500μ1 of culture of different bacteria in exponential phase. The tested bacteria are listed in the following table. The bactericidal activity of crude extract of leeches' saliva in different bacterial solution is tested during 24 hours. When activity was detected, all the bacteria are killed in less than 24 hours.

Gram-negative bacteria

Acinetobacter baumannii ++

Salmonella thyphimirium +

Alcaligenes faecalis +

Haemophillus influenzae +

Shewanella ++

Echerichia coli +

Gram-positive bacteria

Aerococcus viridans ++

Micrococcus luteus ++

Staphylococcus saprophyticus +

Staphylococcus aureus +

(++) high activity detected; (+) low activity detected