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British Journal of Experimental Pathology logoLink to British Journal of Experimental Pathology
. 1989 Dec;70(6):697–704.

Lactoferrin can protect mice against a lethal dose of Escherichia coli in experimental infection in vivo.

T Zagulski 1, P Lipiński 1, A Zagulska 1, S Broniek 1, Z Jarzabek 1
PMCID: PMC2040730  PMID: 2690922

Abstract

Experiments were undertaken to demonstrate and partially explain the protective effect of bovine lactoferrin (LB) when administered intravenously to mice 24 h before a challenge with a lethal dose of Escherichia coli. About 70% of mice pretreated with LB survived challenge. The survival rates in control mice treated with E. coli alone and pretreated with bovine serum albumin (BSA), were 4 and 8%, respectively. Human lactoferrin (LH) had almost the same protective effect as LB. Sufficient amounts of ferric ions were given to mice, in single and multiple doses, for full serum transferrin saturation 30 min before or after E. coli administration. The multiple dose of ferric ions did not change considerably the survival rate of mice pretreated with LB. In contrast, a single dose of ferric ions gradually decreased the survival rate of the mice after the first week of experiment. From day 14 this decrease was statistically significant in all groups of mice treated with a single dose of ferric ions when compared with mice pretreated only with LB, and the difference ranged from 25 to 35% on day 30. The possible mechanism(s) of protective effect of LB and role of iron ions are discussed.

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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