title: Liposomal lactoferrin induced significant increase of the interferon-alpha (IFN-alpha) producibility in healthy volunteers.
abstract: Interferon-alpha (IFN-alpha) producibility has been widely accepted as one of the important markers to evaluate the immune status. In this study, preliminary clinical tests were carried out to confirm the immunomodulatory activity of liposomal lactoferrin including IFN-alpha producibility and NK activity. In a primary open trial, the liposomal lactoferrin was administered to five healthy males for one week and various immunological indices were evaluated. Furthermore, ten healthy males were administered 319 mg per day of liposomal or non-liposomal lactoferrin for four weeks, and immune status was monitored at 0, 1 and 4 weeks after the intake as well as three weeks after stopping it. In this double-blinded comparative study, the IFN-alpha producibility was significantly increased only in the liposomal lactoferrin group during administration and decreased 3 weeks after stopping it, while the IFN-alpha producibility was unchanged in the non-liposomal lactoferrin group. Although the biological mechanism of IFN-alpha producibility enforced by liposomal lactoferrin has not been wholly understood, it is suggested to be a novel active constituent having preventive and therapeutic effects on inflammatory diseases, cancer and infectious diseases such as chronic hepatitis C.
authors.affiliation: R&D Center, Sunstar Inc. 3-1, Asahi-Machi, Takatsuki, Osaka 569-1195, Japan. atsushi.ishikado@unisunstar.com
authors.forename: Atsushi
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ishikado
authors.forename: Hiromichi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Imanaka
authors.forename: Mayumi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kotani
authors.forename: Akihito
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Fujita
authors.forename: Yoko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Mitsuishi
authors.forename: Tomoyuki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kanemitsu
authors.forename: Yoshiko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Tamura
authors.forename: Taketoshi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Makino
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001772:Blood Cell Count; D001798:Blood Proteins / Q000032:analysis; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D006400:Hematocrit; D006801:Humans; D016898:Interferon-alpha / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D007694:Killer Cells, Natural / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology*; D007781:Lactoferrin / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008081:Liposomes; D008297:Male; D012016:Reference Values
chemical_list: D001798:Blood Proteins; D016898:Interferon-alpha; D008081:Liposomes; D007781:Lactoferrin