The New Choice of Tacrolimus in the Treatment of Refractory Ulcerative Colitis

Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a chronic non-specific inflammatory bowel disease with lesion confined to the colonic mucosa and sub mucosa [1]. According to the activity degree, UC can be clinically classified as mild, moderate and severe refractory diseases. Aminosalicylates and corticosteroids are traditional medicines used for mild and moderate UC, respectively, while immuno-suppressants (e.g., methotrexate and cyclosporine A) are generally used for severe refractory UC [2,3]. Unfortunately, approximately 30% of UC patients eventually require surgery after treating with these traditional medicines, which are mainly due to their gastrointestinal reaction, renal toxicity and neurotoxicity [4]. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop a novel medicine to improve the outcomes in patients with UC. Tacrolimus that targets a specific immunological pathway has been studied as a promising UC therapeutics [5,6]. This review will provide a brief overview of several up to date clinical studies on tacrolimus in UC treatment.