Lactoferrin regulates the immune responses in post-surgical patients

The effect of oral administration of lactoferrin (LF) was studied to determine if it could modify post-surgical immune response. The action of LF was evaluated in 18 LF-treated patients vs 28 placebo counterparts. Patients (women and men, mean age 50 years) were given daily oral doses (20 mg each) of LF for 5 consecutive days prior to thyroid surgery. The following immune response parameters were determined in blood samples taken from the patients day before, day after, and 5-7 days following surgery: cell morphology, the proliferative response of peripheral blood mononuclear cells to phytohemagglutinin, and the spontaneous and lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced production of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) and interleukin 6 (IL-6). As a consequence of the thyroid surgery, the total leukocyte count increased on the post-operative day by about 50% in all patients and the percentage of lymphocytes fell by 26 and 35% in the control vs LF-treated group. The content of neutrophils, on the other hand, elevated on day 1 post-operation by 51 and 68%, respectively. The percent of neutrophil precursors was markedly higher in LF-treated patients, particularly on the day before and the day after surgery (4.1 and 4.8 vs 2.5 and 3.7%, respectively). The post-surgical values were, however, comparable in both groups for neutrophils. The proliferative response of lymphocytes showed a slight decrease in the control group and an increase in the LF-treated patients on day 5 post-operation (20% over control group). LPS-induced TNF-alpha production was higher in LF-treated patients both one day before and one day following surgery (28 and 24%, respectively). LPS-induced IL-6 production was comparable in both placebo and LF-treated patients before surgery, however, on day 1 and 5 following surgery, the production of IL-6 was higher in LF-treated patients by 65 and 27%, respectively. Taken together, the data presented in this study revealed an increased immune responsiveness in all patients treated with LF and subjected to thyroid surgery. This suggests that treatment with LF could constitute an effective protective measure against post-surgical complications.