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The Biology of Lactoferrin, an Iron-Binding Protein That Can Help Defend Against Viruses and Bacteria

Lactoferrin is a nutrient classically found in mammalian milk. It binds iron and is transferred via a variety of receptors into and between cells, serum, bile, and cerebrospinal fluid. It has important immunological properties, and is both antibacterial and antiviral. In particular, there is evidenc...

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Autores principales: Kell, Douglas B., Heyden, Eugene L., Pretorius, Etheresia
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Frontiers Media S.A. 2020
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7271924/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/32574271
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2020.01221
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author Kell, Douglas B.
Heyden, Eugene L.
Pretorius, Etheresia
author_facet Kell, Douglas B.
Heyden, Eugene L.
Pretorius, Etheresia
author_sort Kell, Douglas B.
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description Lactoferrin is a nutrient classically found in mammalian milk. It binds iron and is transferred via a variety of receptors into and between cells, serum, bile, and cerebrospinal fluid. It has important immunological properties, and is both antibacterial and antiviral. In particular, there is evidence that it can bind to at least some of the receptors used by coronaviruses and thereby block their entry. Of importance are Heparan Sulfate Proteoglycans (HSPGs) and the host receptor angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), as based on other activities lactoferrin might prevent severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) from attaching to the host cells. Lactoferrin (and more specifically enteric-coated LF because of increased bioavailability) may consequently be of preventive and therapeutic value during the present COVID-19 pandemic.
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spelling pubmed-72719242020-06-15 The Biology of Lactoferrin, an Iron-Binding Protein That Can Help Defend Against Viruses and Bacteria Kell, Douglas B. Heyden, Eugene L. Pretorius, Etheresia Front Immunol Immunology Lactoferrin is a nutrient classically found in mammalian milk. It binds iron and is transferred via a variety of receptors into and between cells, serum, bile, and cerebrospinal fluid. It has important immunological properties, and is both antibacterial and antiviral. In particular, there is evidence that it can bind to at least some of the receptors used by coronaviruses and thereby block their entry. Of importance are Heparan Sulfate Proteoglycans (HSPGs) and the host receptor angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), as based on other activities lactoferrin might prevent severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) from attaching to the host cells. Lactoferrin (and more specifically enteric-coated LF because of increased bioavailability) may consequently be of preventive and therapeutic value during the present COVID-19 pandemic. Frontiers Media S.A. 2020-05-28 /pmc/articles/PMC7271924/ /pubmed/32574271 http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2020.01221 Text en Copyright © 2020 Kell, Heyden and Pretorius. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
spellingShingle Immunology
Kell, Douglas B.
Heyden, Eugene L.
Pretorius, Etheresia
The Biology of Lactoferrin, an Iron-Binding Protein That Can Help Defend Against Viruses and Bacteria
title The Biology of Lactoferrin, an Iron-Binding Protein That Can Help Defend Against Viruses and Bacteria
title_full The Biology of Lactoferrin, an Iron-Binding Protein That Can Help Defend Against Viruses and Bacteria
title_fullStr The Biology of Lactoferrin, an Iron-Binding Protein That Can Help Defend Against Viruses and Bacteria
title_full_unstemmed The Biology of Lactoferrin, an Iron-Binding Protein That Can Help Defend Against Viruses and Bacteria
title_short The Biology of Lactoferrin, an Iron-Binding Protein That Can Help Defend Against Viruses and Bacteria
title_sort biology of lactoferrin, an iron-binding protein that can help defend against viruses and bacteria
topic Immunology
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7271924/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/32574271
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2020.01221
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