Colchicine in Renal Medicine: New Virtues of an Ancient Friend

Abstract

Colchicine is a plant-derived alkaloid that disrupts the cell microtubule system and accumulates in neutrophils, inhibiting neutrophil adhesion and recruitment. Colchicine has been used extensively in the prevention and treatment of gouty arthritis attacks, familial Mediterranean fever attacks and resultant AA amyloidosis, and recurrent pericarditis. Colchicine also disrupts the intracellular traffic of additional inflammatory and fibrosis mediators. Renal fibrosis is the final common pathway of chronic renal disease. Colchicine had anti-fibrotic effects in experimental diabetic nephropathy, renal mass reduction, and cyclosporine nephrotoxicity among others and is undergoing clinical trials for non-diabetic metabolic syndrome and diabetic nephropathy. In this review, we summarize the anti-inflammatory and anti-fibrotic properties of colchicine in experimental and clinical studies in renal diseases or other fibrotic disease processes with renal consequences. We also discuss the potential future uses of colchicine in renal medicine and challenges faced with its use in patients with impaired kidney function.

Colchicine, a microtubule‐disassembling drug, in the therapy of cardiovascular diseases

“…We prefer the term tubulin-binding agents (MTdisassembling agents, antitubulins) (Chaldakov, 1982Chaldakov and Vankov, 1986) instead of term MT targeting agents (Lu et al, 2012). Thus, tubulin has been emerging as a promising target for new anti-inflammatory (Chaldakov, 1991(Chaldakov, , 2017Martinez et al, 2015;Yanev et al, 2016), anti-fibrotic (Chaldakov and Nikolov, 1975;Chaldakov and Kadar, 1978;Chaldakov, 1982Chaldakov and Vankov, 1986;Chaldakov et al, 1987;Solak and Siriopol, 2017) and anti-cancer (Lu and Chen, 2012) drugs.…”

“…From Chaldakov (1982) and . 1-3, [Chaldakov and Nikolov, 1975;Chaldakov and Vankov, 1986;Chaldakov et al, 1987;); also see Chaldakov et al, 1989;Solak and Siriopol, 2017). Preliminary proof for the possible anti-secretory (anti-fibrotic) effect of colchicine was presented in a lecture delivered by the author at the International Symposium on Smooth Muscle of the Artery, held Heidelberg, Germany, October 1973, which was published in 1975 (Chaldakov and Nikolov, 1975).…”

“…Over the past decades, advances in the knowledge of (i) cytoskeletal microtubules (МТ) и (ii) cellular effects of colchicine as MT‐disassembling agent have led to potential new uses for this very old drug. For instance, colchicine has been used to treat familial Mediterranean fever (and related amyloidosis and recurrent pericarditis), Behçet's disease, acute febrile neutrophilic dermatosis (Sweet's syndrome), epidermolysis bullosa acquisita, aphthous stomatitis, also liver cirrhosis, scleroderma, idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and other fibro‐inflammatory diseases (Chaldakov et al, ; Martinez et al, ; Chaldakov, ; Solak et al, ).…”

Efficacy of oral colchicine with intralesional hyaluronidase or triamcinolone acetonide in the Grade II oral submucous fibrosis

“…[7] It has been used in reducing fibrosis in liver and kidney diseases. [8] Besides, it also has some anti-inflammatory properties. This anti-inflammatory property is related to drug's effect on polymorphonuclear leukocytes and monocyte chemotaxis, leukocyte adhesiveness, and also its effect on prostaglandin E, which suppresses the leukocyte function.…”

Biorhizome: A Biosynthetic Platform for Colchicine Biomanufacturing

“…Colchicine treatment could decrease systemic inflammation (Akodad et al, 2017). Indeed, colchicine had antifibrotic effects in diabetic nephropathy (Solak et al, 2017). Finally, clinical data suggested that colchicine treatment could inhibit cardiovascular diseases, among others (Frommeyer et al, 2017).…”