TY - JOUR AU - Siqueiros-Cendón Tania AU - Arévalo-Gallegos Sigifredo AU - Iglesias-Figueroa Blanca Flor AU - García-Montoya Isui Abril AU - Salazar-Martínez José AU - Rascón-Cruz Quintín PY - 2016 TI - Immunomodulatory effects of lactoferrin JF - Acta Pharmacologica Sinica; Vol 35, No 5 (May 2014): Acta Pharmacologica Sinica Y2 - 2016 KW - N2 - Tania SIQUEIROS-CENDÓN1, Sigifredo ARÉVALO-GALLEGOS2, Blanca Flor IGLESIAS-FIGUEROA2, Isui Abril GARCÍA-MONTOYA2, José SALAZAR-MARTÍNEZ3, Quintín RASCÓN-CRUZ2, * 1Laboratorio de Inmunología, Facultad de Ciencias Químicas, Universidad Autónoma de Chihuahua, Circuito 1, Nuevo Campus Universitario, CP 31125, Chihuahua, México; 2Laboratorio de Biotecnología I, Facultad de Ciencias Químicas, Universidad Autónoma de Chihuahua, Circuito 1, Nuevo Campus Universitario, CP 31125, Chihuahua, México; 3Proteo/Muuu-Technologies de México, Zaragoza 63, Zona Centro, Fco. I. Madero, Coahuila, México Lactoferrin (Lf) is an iron-binding glycoprotein of the transferrin family, which is expressed in most biological fluids with particularly high levels in mammalian milk. Its multiple activities lie in its capacity to bind iron and to interact with the molecular and cellular components of hosts and pathogens. Lf can bind and sequester lipopolysaccharides, thus preventing pro-inflammatory pathway activation, sepsis and tissue damages. Lf is also considered a cell-secreted mediator that bridges the innate and adaptive immune responses. In the recent years much has been learned about the mechanisms by which Lf exerts its activities. This review summarizes the recent advances in understanding the mechanisms underlying the multifunctional roles of Lf, and provides a future perspective on its potential prophylactic and therapeutic applications. Keywords: lactoferrin; glycoprotein; transferring; immunomodulator; antimicrobial This work was supported in part by an internal grant from Facultad de Ciencias Químicas, Universidad Autónoma de Chihuahua, Mexico and Proteo/Muuu-Technologies de México. * To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail qrascon@uach.mx Received 2013-10-28 Accepted 2013-12-23 UR - http://www.chinaphar.com/article/view/5923