Review, role of lactoferrin in preventing preterm delivery

• Published in: Biometals Vol. 36; no. 3; pp. 521 - 530
• Main Authors: Otsuki, Katsufumi, Nishi, Takshi, Kondo, Tetsuro, Okubo, Kazutoshi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dordrecht Springer Netherlands 01.06.2023; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Animal models; Animals; Anti-Bacterial Agents; Biochemistry; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Breast milk; Cell Biology; Cell lines; Cervix; Female; Flora; Genital microflora; Humans; Hypotheses; In vivo methods and tests; Infant, Newborn; Inflammation; Lactoferrin; Lactoferrin - pharmacology; Lactoferrin - therapeutic use; Life Sciences; Medicine/Public Health; Microbiology; Pharmacology/Toxicology; Plant Physiology; Prebiotics; Pregnancy; Premature birth; Premature Birth - drug therapy; Premature Birth - prevention & control; Risk groups; Side effects; Vagina; Vaginitis; Vaginosis, Bacterial - drug therapy; Vaginosis, Bacterial - microbiology; Bacterial vaginosis; Lactoferrin; Preterm birth; Chorioamnionitis; species; Lactobacillus species
• ISSN: 0966-0844; 1572-8773
• DOI: 10.1007/s10534-022-00471-9

Prevention of preterm birth (PTB) is a global challenge and is one of the most important issues to be addressed in perinatal care. The hypothesis that ascending lower genital infection leads to PTB has been tested in numerous in vitro and in vivo studies. For patients with intractable vaginitis or high-risk patients with successive PTBs, mainly due to intra-uterine infection, the vaginal flora is enhanced to increase systemic immunity and locally propagate Lactobacillus species. It has been shown that the administration of lactoferrin (LF), a prebiotic with minimum side effects, may be effective in suppressing PTB. This hypothesis has been evaluated in this review using various relevant test examples. The findings suggest that LF may play a role in inflammatory protection in pregnant human cervical tissue. The antibacterial and anti-cytokine effects of LF in human-derived mucus-producing cervical cell lines were also demonstrated. It was also clarified that LF suppresses PTB and improves the prognosis of pups in inflammation-induced PTB animal models. Thus, we have identified that LF, a prebiotic contained in breast milk, can be clinically applied to suppress PTB in humans and to prevent PTBs in high-risk pregnancies.