Antibiotics, often hailed as ‘miracle drugs’ in the 20th century, have revolutionised medicine by saving millions of lives in human and veterinary medicine, effectively combatting bacterial infections. However, the escalating global challenge of antimicrobial resistance and the appearance and spread of multidrug-resistant pathogens necessitates res...
This study aimed to determine lactoferrin (LF) in breast milk-based powders and formulas. Lactoferrin is an important whey protein in all mammalian milks and is responsible in large part for the known antimicrobial effects of human milk in particular. As breast feeding is not always possible, formulas based on cows milk have been developed in order...
Chlamydia suis (C. suis) resides in the intestines of pigs and tetracycline-resistant strains are emerging worldwide. Intestinal infections are often subclinical. However, the gut is regarded as a C. suis reservoir and clinical infections have been associated with enteritis, conjunctivitis, pneumonia and reproductive failure. C. suis was found in b...
Published in Biochemistry and cell biology = Biochimie et biologie cellulaire
Lactoferrin is a multifunctional protein found in the secretions of mammals. The antimicrobial activity of lactoferrin was the first to be discovered and was assumed to be solely dependent on its iron-chelating ability. However, lactoferrin has been reported to display proteolytic activity towards bacterial virulence factors and to modulate the hos...
Published in Veterinary microbiology
The terminal rectal mucosa has been identified as the predominant colonization site of Escherichia coli O157:H7 in cattle, thus a possible intervention approach should directly target this colonization site. To determine the effect of lactoferrin on E. coli O157:H7 mucosal colonization at the rectum, five 6-month-old Holstein-Friesian calves were e...
Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) serotype O157:H7 strains are associated with haemorraghic colitis and haemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) in humans. Cattle are a reservoir of E. coli O157:H7. We studied the ability of bovine and human lactoferrin, two natural antimicrobial proteins present in milk, to inhibit E. coli O157:H7 growth and attac...
