( SAN CARLOS Calif April 11 2007 /PRN...)Nuvelo Announces Publication of NU206 Study Results in,Gastroenterology,Health

SAN CARLOS, Calif, April 11, 2007 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Nuvelo, Inc. today announced the publication of data from a study of NU206 (R-Spondin1), a secreted protein currently in preclinical development, showing that it acts as a specific and potent stimulator of gastrointestinal (GI) epithelial cells. This epithelial lining is damaged in patients with inflammatory bowel conditions, including Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. The study, entitled "R-Spondin1, A Novel Intestinotrophic Mitogen, Ameliorates Experimental Colitis in Mice," appears in the April issue of Gastroenterology, the official journal of the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA).

"This study lays the scientific foundation for the development of NU206 as a potential treatment for inflammatory bowel disease," said Walter Funk, Ph.D., vice president of research for Nuvelo. "In multiple animal disease models, NU206 was shown to decrease the severity of chronic colitis by restoring the epithelial lining and alleviating inflammation of the small intestine and colon. In addition, treatment with NU206 reduced the physiological symptoms of colitis, including weight loss, diarrhea, and rectal bleeding."

The study investigated the efficacy of NU206 in reducing the severity of colitis induced by dextran sulfate sodium (DSS), trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid (TNBS), and by non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) treatment in interleukin (IL)-10-deficient mice.

NU206, also known as human R-spondin1, is a recombinant, secreted protein that has the potential to act as a potent and highly specific growth factor of GI epithelial cells. In early animal model studies, NU206 promoted growth and repair of these tissues in models of radiation treatment or chemotherapy, as well as in animal models of inflammatory bowel disease and short bowel syndrome. A publication in the August 2005 issue of Science described results from stud
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