Lactoferrin: Structure and Function (Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology, 357)

Lactoferrin is an intriguing protein with an interesting structure and several known or suggested biological activities. We feel that attention on this protein has been too limited and diffuse, partly because it has been "hidden" among other well-known iron-binding proteins such as hemoglobin, ferritin and transferrin, but also perhaps because its biological functions are so diverse. Investigators that focus on lactoferrin represent a wide variety of medical and scientific disciplines that do not usually come together. It was our intention to improve that situation with this symposium. In this book, experts from a variety of disciplines describe the present knowledge of the structural features of lactoferrin, its carbohydrate side chains and its capacity to bind different metal ions and anions. Several of the possible physiological functions of lactoferrin are described in detail, including the role of lactoferrin in bacterial killing, its involvement in growth and proliferation, in immune function and in iron absorption. Aspects of the molecular biology of lactoferrin and its specific interactions with different cell types are also included. Finally, as lactoferrin now has become commercially available in larger quantities, possible industrial applications are discussed. The book should give the interested reader a thorough insight into our present knowledge of lactoferrin.

In Lactoferrin: Interactions and Biological Functions, experimental and clinical investigators join forces to explain our current understanding of lactoferrin, a highly significant protein in medicine and industry. Drawing on many disciplines, the front-line authorities writing here define the structural features of lactoferrin and describe in detail several of its physiological functions. These include the role of lactoferrin in killing bacteria, and its involvement in cell growth and proliferation, in the modulation of immune function, and in iron absorption. Particular attention is given to lactoferrin functions in the regulation of normal and diseased states. New knowledge of the molecular biology of lactoferrin is also included, along with discussions of commercially viable large-scale production techniques and important new industrial applications.
Lactoferrin: Interactions and Biological Functions offers a comprehensive, multidisciplinary view of our present knowledge of lactoferrin and opens the way to the greatly expanded use of lactoferrin as a bioactive reagent in foods and pharmaceuticals. Now the new standard reference in the field, Lactoferrin will prove invaluable to all those working with this important biochemical in both basic and clinical settings.