Table 3.
Mechanisms of lactoferrin action.
| Kind of Activity | Mechanism of Action | [Ref.] |
|---|---|---|
| Antibacterial | - Reducing the concentration of iron ions that are necessary to bacterial growth and proliferation (chelation of iron via LF) - Interacting with lipoteichoic acid (LTA) of the cell walls of G(+) bacteria, disintegrating them and increasing their permeability |
[102,115,116] |
| - Binding to lipopolysaccharide (LPS) of the walls of G(−) bacteria and disintegrating them. | ||
| Antifungal | - Damaging cell membranes of fungi and altering their permeability | [117,118,119] |
| - Sequestration of iron | ||
| - Membrane destabilization | ||
| Antiviral | - Blocking the host’s cell surface receptors due to the LF’s affinity for glycosaminoglycans- Direct interacting with capsid or viral envelope proteins | [113,120,121] |
| Antiparasitic | - Targets the host cell entry | [122,123,124,125,126] |
| - Sequestration of iron- Probably linked to sequestration of iron | ||
| - Acts additively or synergistically with the antiparasitic compounds used in therapy | ||
| Antioxidant | - Inhibiting the propagation of hydroxyl radicals by sequestering cationic iron and copper | [109,115,127] |
| Anticancer | - Reducing the production of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α in cell cultures | [104] |
| Immunomodulatory | - Stimulating the phagocytic activity of multinucleated leukocytes | [98,103,104] |
| - Reducing the production of interleukin (IL) -6 in cell cultures | ||
| - T-cell maturation | ||
| - Stimulation of NK (natural killer cells) cells | ||
| - Reducing pro-inflammatory cytokines |