Lactoferrin as an Adjunctive Agent in the Treatment of Bacterial Infections Associated with Diabetic Foot Ulcers

Lactoferrin is a protein of mammalian origin secreted in the milk of several animals, including human beings, cows, horses, pigs, goats and mice (Masson & Heremans, 1971). From the moment that bovine (Tomita et al., 2009) and human lactoferrin (Weinberg, 2001) were isolated from the milk of their respective species, they began to receive great attention due to their multifunctional properties that are distinctive from lactoferrin from other mammals. In general, lactoferrin is regarded as a modulator of humoral and cellular components involved in inflammatory and immune responses (Actor et al., 2009; Legrand et al., 2004), which has broad implications. For instance, lactoferrin displays antimicrobial activity against a wide range of pathogens, including virus, bacteria, fungi and parasites (Jenssen & Hancock, 2009). It is also able to promote skin integrity by regulating the generation of humoral components of the inflammatory and immune responses, including such cytokines as the tumor necrosis factor (TNF) alpha and interleukin (IL) 1beta, as well as the migration of Langerhans cells (Kimber et al., 2002). Moreover, lactoferrin enhances collagen gel contractile activity of fibroblasts, leading to skin wound healing (Takayama & Takezawa, 2006).