Immunomodulatory effect of bovine lactoferrin during SARS-CoV-2 infection

Autor: Andrea Marques Vieira da Silva, Thiago Lazari Machado, Ryann de Souza Nascimento, Miguel Pires Medeiros Diniz Rodrigues, Felipe Soares Coelho, Luciana Neves Tubarão, Lorenna Carvalho da Rosa, Camilla Bayma, Vanessa Pimenta Rocha, Ana Beatriz Teixeira Frederico, Jane Silva, Danielle Regina de Almeida de Brito e Cunha, Alessandro Fonseca de Souza, Raphaela Barbosa Gonçalves de Souza, Caroline Augusto Barros, Danielle da Silva Fiscina, Luiz Claudio Pereira Ribeiro, Carlos Alberto Marques de Carvalho, Bruno Jorge Duque da Silva, Rodrigo Muller, Tamiris Azamor, Juliana Gil Melgaço, Rafael Braga Gonçalves, Ana Paula Dinis Ano Bom
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2024
Předmět:
Zdroj: Frontiers in Immunology, Vol 15 (2024)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 1664-3224
DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2024.1456634
Popis: IntroductionLactoferrin (Lf) is an important immunomodulator in infections caused by different agents. During SARS-CoV-2 infection, Lf can hinder or prevent virus access to the intracellular environment. Severe cases of COVID-19 are related to increased production of cytokines, accompanied by a weak type 1 interferon response.MethodsWe investigated the influence of bovine Lf (bLf) in the immune response during SARS-CoV-2 infection in vitro and in vivo assays.ResultsOur results show a strong binding between bLf and TLR4/NF-κB in silico, as well as an increase in mRNA expression of these genes in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) treated with bLf. Furthermore, the treatment increased TLR4/TLR9 mRNA expression in infected K18-hACE2 mouse blood, indicating an activation of innate response. Our results show that, when bLf was added, a reduction in the NK cell population was found, presenting a similar effect on PD-1 in TCD4+ and TCD8+ cells. In the culture supernatant of PBMCs from healthy participants, bLf decreased IL-6 levels and increased CCL5 in COVID-19 participants. In addition, K18-hACE2 mice infected and treated with bLf presented an increase of serum pro-inflammatory markers (GM-CSF/IL-1β/IL-2) and upregulated mRNA expression of IL1B and IL6 in the lung tissue. Furthermore, bLf treatment was able to restore FTH1 levels in brain tissue.DiscussionThe data indicate that bLf can be part of a therapeutic strategy to promote the immunomodulation effect, leading to homeostasis during COVID-19.
Databáze: Directory of Open Access Journals