Lactoferrin with a molecular mass of 80 kDa was purified from equine seminal plasma by heparin-Agarose affinity chromatography and Sephacryl S-200 gel filtration. Purified lactoferrin was found to be highly homogeneous on the bases of its migration as a single band on sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and of the monospecificity of rabbit antibodies to the purified protei...

Mean transferrin and lactoferrin concentrations in whey samples from 376 uninfected quarters of 42 Holstein X Friesian cows on the 30th, 150th and 270th days of lactation were respectively 0.030 and 0.080 mg/ml. The mean transferrin concentration in serum was 4.63 mg/ml. Lactation number and location of quarters did not influence milk lactoferrin and transferrin values. Lactoferrin concentratio...

The anti-Candida activity of the innate defense protein human lactoferrin was investigated. Lactoferrin displayed a clear fungicidal effect against Candida albicans only under low-strength conditions. This candidacidal activity was inversely correlated with the extracellular concentration of the monovalent cations and was prevented by Na(+) and K(+) (> or 30 mM) and by divalent cations (Ca(2+) ...

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is associated with the development of cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. We recently found that bovine lactoferrin, a milk protein belonging to the iron transporter family, effectively prevented HCV infection in cultured human hepatocytes (PH5CH8). We tested the hypothesis that lactoferrin inhibits HCV viremia in patients with chronic hepatitis C. Eleven patients wi...

Human tear fluid contains lactoferrin at the highest concentration. In patients with dry eye such as Sjogren's syndrome, the concentration of lactoferrin in the tears is approximately half the normal value. The present study utilizes a short-term rabbit dry eye model to evaluate if lactoferrin containing eye drops can reverse any of the damage produced by blockage of blinking with an ocular spe...

Lactoferrin, an 80-kDa iron-binding protein with immune modulating properties, is a unique adjuvant component able to enhance efficacy of the existing Mycobacterium bovis Bacillus Calmette Guerin (BCG) vaccine to protect against murine model of tuberculosis. Although identified as having effects on macrophage presentation events, lactoferrin's capability to modulate dendritic cells (DCs) functi...

Lactoferrin is a highly multifunctional glycoprotein involved in many physiological functions, including regulation of iron absorption and immune responses. Moreover, there is increasing evidence for neuroprotective effects of lactoferrin. We used Caenorhabditis elegans as a model to test the protective effects, both on phenotype and transcriptome, of a nutraceutical product based on lactoferri...

Lactoferrin is an iron-binding diferric glycoprotein present in most of the exocrine secretions. The major role of lactoferrin, which is found abundantly in colostrum, is antimicrobial action for the defense of mammary gland and the neonates. Lactoferrin consists of two equal halves, designated as N-lobe and C-lobe, each of which contains one iron-binding site. While the N-lobe of lactoferrin h...

Serial determinations of beta 2-microglobulin, lactoferrin and lysozyme in CSF were performed in 14 patients with acute cerebrovascular lesions. Marked elevations were noted in patients with cerebral bleeding or hemorrhagic infarction. Patients with infarction without signs of bleeding or with cerebrovascular lesions undetectable by computed tomography also had an increase in these proteins. Th...

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...