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Updated: Mar 26, 2026

A 3D Human Lung Tissue Model for Functional Studies on Mycobacterium tuberculosis Infection
Published on: October 5, 2015
Lactoferrin: A Modulator for Immunity against Tuberculosis Related Granulomatous Pathology
1UTHealth, Department of Pathology, University of Texas-Houston Medical School, Houston, TX 77030, USA; Program in Immunology, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Houston, TX 77030, USA.
Abstract:
There is great need for a therapeutic that would limit tuberculosis related pathology and thus curtail spread of disease between individuals by establishing a "firebreak" to slow transmission. A promising avenue to increase current therapeutic efficacy may be through incorporation of adjunct components that slow or stop development of aggressive destructive pulmonary pathology. Lactoferrin, an iron-binding glycoprotein found in mucosal secretions and granules of neutrophils, is just such a potential adjunct therapeutic agent. The focus of this review is to explore the utility of lactoferrin to serve as a therapeutic tool to investigate "disruption" of the mycobacterial granuloma. Proposed concepts for mechanisms underlying lactoferrin efficacy to control immunopathology are supported by data generated based on in vivo models using nonpathogenic trehalose 6,6'-dimycolate (TDM, cord factor).
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