Zhang Yunlei, Lima Cristovao F, Rodrigues Ligia R
CEB - Centre of Biological Engineering, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal; College of Life Science, Hunan Provincial Key Laboratory of Microbial Molecular Biology - State Key Laboratory Breeding Base of Microbial Molecular Biology, Hunan Normal University, Changsha, China.
Nutr Rev. 2014 Dec;72(12):763-73. doi: 10.1111/nure.12155. Epub 2014 Nov 18.
Lactoferrin has been widely studied over the last 70 years, and its role in diverse biological functions is now well known and generally accepted by the scientific community. Usually, alterations of the lactoferrin gene in cells are associated with an increased incidence of cancer. Several studies suggest that exogenous treatment with lactoferrin and its derivatives can efficiently inhibit the growth of tumors and reduce susceptibility to cancer. None of these studies, however, reported a consistent outcome with regard to the mechanisms underlying the anticancer effects of lactoferrin. In this review, the association of lactoferrin with cancer is thoroughly discussed, from lactoferrin gene expression to the potential use of lactoferrin in cancer therapy. Lactoferrin cytotoxicity against several cancers is reported to occur in distinct ways under different conditions, namely by cell membrane disruption, apoptosis induction, cell cycle arrest, and cell immunoreaction. Based on these mechanisms, new strategies to improve the anticancer effects of the lactoferrin protein and/or its derivatives are proposed. The potential for lactoferrin in the field of cancer research (including as a chemotherapeutic agent in cancer therapy) is also discussed.
在过去70年里，乳铁蛋白得到了广泛研究，其在多种生物学功能中的作用现已为科学界所熟知并普遍接受。通常，细胞中乳铁蛋白基因的改变与癌症发病率的增加有关。多项研究表明，用乳铁蛋白及其衍生物进行外源处理可有效抑制肿瘤生长并降低患癌易感性。然而，这些研究均未就乳铁蛋白抗癌作用的潜在机制报告一致的结果。在本综述中，从乳铁蛋白基因表达到乳铁蛋白在癌症治疗中的潜在应用，对乳铁蛋白与癌症的关联进行了全面讨论。据报道，乳铁蛋白对几种癌症的细胞毒性在不同条件下以不同方式发生，即通过细胞膜破坏、诱导凋亡、细胞周期阻滞和细胞免疫反应。基于这些机制，提出了提高乳铁蛋白及其衍生物抗癌效果的新策略。还讨论了乳铁蛋白在癌症研究领域的潜力（包括作为癌症治疗中的化疗药物）。
