Lactoferrin: role in iron homeostasis and host defense against microbial infection.

Biometals

Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas 77030, USA.

Published: June 2004

The transferrin family of non-heme iron binding glycoproteins are believed to play a central role in iron metabolism and have been implicated in iron transport, cellular iron delivery and control of the level of free iron in external secretions. Lactoferrin (LF) is a member of this family that is widely localized in external fluids including milk and mucosal secretions, in addition to being a prominent component of the secondary granules of neutrophils. Although structurally related to transferrin, LF appears to have a broader functional role mediated by both iron dependent and iron independent mechanisms. In this review, we will focus on our current understanding on the role of LF in regulating iron homeostasis and its role in host protection against microbial infection at the mucosal surface. In addition, recent insights obtained from analyzing the phenotypic consequences of LF ablation in lactoferrin knockout mice (LFKO), which challenge the long held dogma that LF is required for intestinal iron absorption in the neonate, are summarized.

Download full-text PDF

Source
http://dx.doi.org/10.1023/b:biom.0000027693.60932.26DOI Listing

Publication Analysis

Top Keywords

iron
10
role iron
8
iron homeostasis
8
microbial infection
8
lactoferrin role
4
homeostasis host
4
host defense
4
defense microbial
4
infection transferrin
4
transferrin family
4

Similar Publications

Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?

Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!