Chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a significant public health problem, with a worldwide prevalence of approximately 170 million. The standard of care for chronic HCV, a combination of alpha-interferon (IFN) and ribavirin, is only 50% effective, has serious side effects, and can be prohibitively expensive for low-income countries ... More
Lactoferrin given in food facilitates dermatophytosis cure in guinea pig models.
Dermatophytosis is the most common skin infection caused by dermatophytic fungi, such as Trichophyton spp. We studied the in vitro and in vivo antifungal effects of lactoferrin against Trichophyton. Human and bovine lactoferrin, and a bovine lactoferrin-derived peptide, lactoferricin B, showed in vitro antifungal activity that was dependent on the ... More
Identification of a lactoferrin-derived peptide possessing binding activity to hepatitis C virus E2 envelope protein.
AuthorsNozaki A, Ikeda M, Naganuma A, Nakamura T, Inudoh M, Tanaka K, Kato N
JournalJ Biol Chem
PubMed ID12522210
Bovine and human lactoferrins (LF) prevent hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in cultured human hepatocytes; the preventive mechanism is thought to be the direct interaction between LF and HCV. To clarify this hypothesis, we have characterized the binding activity of LF to HCV E2 envelope protein and have endeavored to ... More