Sixty Holstein calves (30 bulls, 30 heifers) were used to examine the effects of supplemental lactoferrin on feed intake, growth, and health during the preweaning and postweaning periods. One of 3 levels of lactoferrin was supplemented from 3 to 56 d in either whole milk or water to produce 3 dietary treatments: 1) 0 g/d, 2) 0.5 g/d, and 3) 1 g/d. Whole milk (3.8 L/d) containing lactoferrin sup...

Lactoferrin is an iron-binding protein that has been detected in secretions that bathe human mucosal tissues. Previous studies have shown that, when this protein is in the iron-free state, it is capable of a direct bactericidal effect on Streptococcus mutans and Vibrio cholerae. The present study demonstrates variable susceptibilities for a variety of different microorganisms. The list of susce...

Background: Bacterial vaginosis is the most frequent condition associated to the vaginal microbiota imbalance, affecting about the 40-50% of women in the world. Even if antibiotics are effcetive for bacterial vaginosis treatment a long-term recurrence rates, higher than 70%, is recorded. Lactoferrin is an iron-binding glycoprotein with bacteriostatic and bactericidal properties. It owns the abi...

BACKGROUND AND AIMS The natural immunomodulator, lactoferrin, is widespread among various biological fluids and is known to exert an anti-inflammatory effect. However, there has been only one study that examined the mode of action of lactoferrin in reducing intestinal damage. We investigated the therapeutic role of lactoferrin and its effect on the levels of pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammato...

OBJECTIVES To determine the ability of lactoferrin in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) synovial fluid to bind "free" iron, and to study the regulatory mechanisms therein that control iron homeostasis. METHODS "Free" iron was determined by the bleomycin assay and lactoferrin concentrations by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay. The activities of iron regulatory protein (IRP) and NF-kappa B in synovial...

In the present paper we focused on the potential role of human lactoferrin for the intracellular replication rate of T. gondii BK tachyzoites following our earlier observation that Toxoplasma gondii was able to bind human lactoferrin but not serum transferrin. The study was performed in vitro on human CaCo-2 epithelial cells and mouse L929 fibroblasts. We found that the multiplication of the pa...

Lactoferrin and transferrin have antimicrobial activity against selected Gram-negative bacteria, but the mechanism of action has not been defined. We studied the ability of lactoferrin and transferrin to damage the Gram-negative outer membrane. Lipopolysaccharide release by the proteins could be blocked by concurrent addition of Ca2+ and Mg2+. Addition of Ca2+ also blocked the ability of lactof...

Lactoferrin mRNA in the 21-day-old mouse uterus can be increased several hundredfold by estrogen. The physiological role of lactoferrin in mouse uterus is unclear; however, it can be a useful marker for the estrogen action in the uterus. The structural organization and the chromosome location of the lactoferrin gene are similar to members of the transferrin gene family. At the 5' flanking regio...

Background: Lactoferrin is a natural biological active cationic protein that can be used as yogurt additive to inhibit the growth of foodborne pathogens. Objectives: The present study evaluated antimicrobial effects lactoferrin against Bacillus cereus, Enterococcus faecalis, and Candida albicans inoculated in laboratory prepared at refrigerator temperature. Methods: pre-warmed skimmed milk was ...