Departments of Biophysics, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India.
Tirupati Eye Centre and Research Institute, Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India.
Indian J Ophthalmol. 2022 Jul;70(7):2328-2334. doi: 10.4103/ijo.IJO_303_22.
Lactoferrin (LF) is an iron-binding glycoprotein released from mucous secreting cells and neutrophils. LF can be used in a broad range of eye diseases related to the retina, cornea, and optic nerve. The retina is particularly affected by oxidative stress inside the photoreceptor being constantly exposed to light which induces accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the retinal pigmented epithelium (RPE) causing damage to photoreceptor recycling. Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) and macular degeneration are inherited retinopathies that consist of different disease-causing genes, that cause mutations with highly varied clinical consequences. Age-related macular degeneration is a chronic disease of the retina and one of the major causes of sight loss. This review provides an application of lactoferrin and LF-based nano-formulations or nanoparticles in the field of retinal diseases or corneal diseases such as retinitis pigmentosa, retinoblastoma, age-related macular degeneration (AMD), keratoconus and uveitis. Several studies have found that lactoferrin's antibacterial activity is not limited to its iron sequestration, but also its ability as a nanoparticle that acts as a carrier to deliver drugs by crossing the blood-retina barrier (BRB) and its involvement in cell cycle control, which is not possible by many transferrin proteins.
乳铁蛋白（LF）是一种从黏液分泌细胞和中性粒细胞中释放出来的铁结合糖蛋白。LF 可广泛用于与视网膜、角膜和视神经相关的各种眼部疾病。视网膜特别容易受到光感受器内氧化应激的影响，光感受器不断暴露在光线下会导致视网膜色素上皮（RPE）中活性氧（ROS）的积累，从而对光感受器的再循环造成损害。色素性视网膜炎（RP）和年龄相关性黄斑变性是遗传性视网膜病变，由不同的致病基因引起，这些基因的突变会产生高度不同的临床后果。年龄相关性黄斑变性是一种慢性视网膜疾病，也是导致视力丧失的主要原因之一。本综述介绍了乳铁蛋白及其基于纳米制剂或纳米颗粒在视网膜疾病或角膜疾病中的应用，如色素性视网膜炎、视网膜母细胞瘤、年龄相关性黄斑变性（AMD）、圆锥角膜和葡萄膜炎。一些研究发现，乳铁蛋白的抗菌活性不仅限于其铁螯合作用，还与其作为纳米颗粒的能力有关，作为纳米颗粒可以通过血视网膜屏障（BRB）输送药物，并参与细胞周期控制，这是许多转铁蛋白蛋白所不可能的。
