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Lactoferrin (Lf) is the major whey protein in milk, with multiple beneficial health effects including direct antimicrobial activities, anti-inflammatory effects, and iron homeostasis. Oral Lf supplementation in human preterm infants has been shown to reduce the incidence of sepsis and necrotizing enterocolitis. In preclinical models of antenatal stress and perinatal brain injury, bovine Lf protected the developing brain from neuronal loss, improved connectivity, increased neurotrophic factors, and decreased inflammation. It also supported brain development and cognition. Further, Lf can prevent preterm delivery by reducing proinflammatory factors and inhibiting premature cervix maturation. We review here the latest research on Lf in the field of neonatology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Biochemistry & Cell Biology is the property of Canadian Science Publishing and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Biochemistry & Cell Biology is the property of Canadian Science Publishing and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Much has been learned in recent years about the mechanisms by which breastfeeding improves child health and survival. However, there has been little progress in using these insights to improve pediatric care. The aim of this study was to review all clinical studies of lactoferrin (LF) in children in an effort to determine which interventions may improve pediatric care or require further research. We conducted a systematic and critical review of published literature and found 19 clinical studies that have used human or bovine LF for different outcomes: iron metabolisms and anemia (6 studies), fecal flora (5 studies), enteric infections (3 studies), common pediatric illnesses (1 study), immunomodulation (3 studies), and neonatal sepsis (1 study). Although the efficacies have varied in each trial, the main finding of all published studies is the safety of the intervention. Protection against enteric infections and neonatal sepsis are the most likely biologically relevant activities of LF in children. Future studies on neonatal sepsis should answer critically important questions. If the data from these sepsis studies are proven to be correct, it will profoundly affect the treatment of low birth weight neonates and will aid in the reduction of child mortality worldwide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Biochemistry & Cell Biology is the property of Canadian Science Publishing and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Biochemistry & Cell Biology is the property of Canadian Science Publishing and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

We previously demonstrated that lactoferrin inhibits adherence of enteropathogenic Escherichia coli to HEp-2 cells and decreases invasiveness of Shigella flexneri in HeLa cells by disruption of the type III secretory system (TTSS) of both enteropathogens. To determine whether these effects were specific to the TTSS, we assessed the activity of bovine lactoferrin on enteroaggregative E. coli (EAEC), enteropathogens whose virulence is not TTSS dependent. Bovine lactoferrin at a concentration of 1.0 and 0.1 mg/mL inhibited EAEC growth. Saturation with iron reversed the bacteriostatic effect. Lactoferrin under nonbacteriostatic conditions decreased EAEC adherence to HEp-2 cells as evaluated by microscopy and CFUs; this effect was not iron dependent. Lactoferrin inhibited EAEC biofilm formation and increased autoagglutination. Lactoferrin blocks EAEC adherence by inducing release and degradation of aggregative adherence fimbria, a key element of EAEC pathogenesis. We hypothesized that lactoferrin binding to lipid A of lipopolysaccharide disrupts the virulence proteins anchored to the bacterial outermembrane. These data suggest that the effect of lactoferrin on surface proteins is not restricted to organisms having a TTSS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lactoferrin (LF) is a breast milk glycoprotein with antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory effects. Its beneficial properties in infants, especially in those born preterm, are currently being studied in clinical trials. However, the maternal and nursing infant factors that may affect LF concentration in breast milk are still not clear. We conducted a systematic review to investigate the factors that may affect the concentration of LF in breast milk. We used a 2-step approach to identify the eligible studies according to inclusion/exclusion criteria, and to determine which studies would be considered. We included 70 qualified articles from 29 countries with publication dates ranging from 1976 to 2015. We described the correlation between LF concentration in breast milk and lactation stage; 10 maternal factors, such as race, parity, among others; and 2 infant factors: infections and prematurity. Colostrum has the highest LF levels, but they decrease with days postpartum. No other factor has been consistently associated with LF concentration. A major limitation of the majority of the published studies is the small sample size and the different methods used to measure LF concentration. Therefore, there is a need for large, multicenter studies with standardized study design, sample collection, and LF measurement methods to identify clinically significant factors associated with LF expression in breast milk, which will help promote exclusive breastfeeding in preterm infants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Here, we determined the effect of bovine lactoferrin (bLF) on the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of ampicillin and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole in Shigella. Using a microdilution method, the MIC was determined in the presence or absence of bovine lactoferrin (10 mg/mL) on 88 Shigella strains (56 Shigella flexneri, 15 Shigella boydii, 13 Shigella sonnei, and 4 Shigella dysenteriae) previously isolated from peruvian children <2 years old. A fold change of 2 or more in MIC values was considered significant. For ampicillin, 67 (76%) strains were highly resistant; one-third of the strains (32%) showed a decrease in ampicillin MIC in the presence of LF. This was more typical of MIC values in less resistant strains. For 7 (8%) ampicillin-resistant strains, the decrease in the MIC resulted in the strains reaching the cutoff for susceptible in the presence of bLF. For trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, 93% of the isolates ( n = 82) were highly resistant and only 4 isolates (5%) decreased their MIC in the presence of bLF. None of the trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole resistant strains became susceptible in the presence of LF. The decrease in the MIC in the presence of bLF seems to depend on the mechanisms of action of each antibiotic. In vivo studies are needed to further evaluate bLF as a coadjuvant to antibiotic treatment of resistant Shigella. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]