Lactotransferrin gene functional polymorphisms do not influence susceptibility to human immunodeficiency virus-1 mother-to-child transmission in different ethnic groups

Abstract

Lactotransferrin, also known as lactoferrin, is an iron binding glycoprotein that displays antiviral activity against many different infectious agents, including human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-1. Lactotransferrin is present in the breast milk and in the female genitourinary mucosa and it has been hypothesised as a possible candidate to prevent mother-to-child HIV-1 transmission. To verify if two functional polymorphisms, Thr29Ala and Arg47Lys, in the lactotransferrin encoding gene (LTF) could affect HIV-1 infection and vertical transmission, a preliminary association study was performed in 238 HIV-1 positive and 99 HIV-1 negative children from Brazil, Italy, Africa and India. No statistically significant association for the Thr29Ala and Arg47Lys LTF polymorphisms and HIV-1 susceptibility in the studied populations was found. Additionally LTF polymorphisms frequencies were compared between the four different ethnic groups.

Levels of serum sclerostin, metabolic parameters, and periodontitis in ­postmenopausal women with diabetes

“…Periodontitis is a multifactorial inflammatory and infectious disease that affects the periodontium, caused by an impaired immune response against oral bacteria, which causes damage to both the connective tissue and bone tissue . It is the leading cause of tooth loss in adults over 40 years of age .…”

Role of lactoferrin and lactoferrin‐derived peptides in oral and maxillofacial diseases

“…The anti‐viral effects of LF against HIV‐1 occur through its ability to bind to dendritic cell‐specific intercellular adhesion molecule‐3‐grabbing non‐integrin, which can block viral attachment and prevent its transmission from dendritic cells to T cells (Groot et al., ). However, a preliminary study was conducted on HIV‐infected and healthy pediatric populations in Brazil to investigate whether the Thr29Ala and Arg47Lys polymorphisms in the LTF gene could alter vertical transmission of the virus and revealed no significant association between these two variables (Zupin et al., ).…”

COVID-19 during Pregnancy and Postpartum:

“…APPs, such as LF could protect the newborn by enhancing immune responses (Cuenca et al 2013). Maternal-LF in breast milk is known to be a potent antiviral agent to prevent motherto-child transmission (MTCT) of HIV-1 infection (Zupin et al 2015).…”