Conference on Lactoferrin: Functions and Applications

第五届国际乳铁蛋白会议将于2001年5月4日至9日在加拿大班夫会议中心举行。乳铁蛋白是一种非血红素铁结合蛋白，由表面上皮细胞分泌到粘膜环境中，由腺细胞分泌到乳汁和粘膜分泌物中，并在感染部位由中性粒细胞释放。乳铁蛋白是天然免疫防御系统的重要组成部分。乳铁蛋白是一种广谱的抗菌剂和抗炎药，其表达在多种环境刺激下迅速上调。会议的目标是将来自乳铁蛋白研究领域内和该领域外相关领域的国际专家聚集在一起，审查关于以下方面的最新进展并优先考虑未来的目标：1)用于机制和功效研究的乳铁蛋白的生产和表征，2)与转铁蛋白家族有关的乳铁蛋白的结构功能关系及其在铁稳态调节中的作用，3)调节乳铁蛋白基因表达的生理和环境因素，4)乳铁蛋白与细菌和哺乳动物细胞相互作用的分子机制，5)乳铁蛋白的抗细菌和抗病毒活性，乳铁蛋白抑制肿瘤细胞生长的作用及其分子机制。在过去的几年里，这一领域取得了重大进展，最显著的是成功地开发了用于人类临床研究的重组乳铁蛋白生产系统，增加了对环境调节的分子机制和乳铁蛋白作用模式的了解，最重要的是，重点从体外测试系统转向临床前和人类临床模型系统，以研究乳铁蛋白在体内的功能和有效性。考虑到这一领域的快速发展，以及迫切需要确定传统抗生素疗法的替代方法来治疗传染病和免疫功能低下的患者，这次会议是及时的。包括乳铁蛋白在内的第一道防线的成分能够迅速对抗在粘膜表面遇到的广泛的微生物和化学挑战，这为未来十年满足这一需求提供了最有前途的方法之一。

The 5th international conference on Lactoferrin will be held at the Banff Conference Center, Canada from May 4-9, 2001. Lactoferrin is a non- heme iron binding protein that is a secreted by surface epithelial cells into the mucosal environment, by glandular cells into milk and mucosal secretions and is released by neutrophils at sites of infection. Lactoferrin is a key component of the innate immune defense system. Lactoferrin functions as a broad range antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory agent whose expression is rapidly upregulated in response to a wide variety of environment stimuli. The goal of the conference is to bring together international experts from both within the lactoferrin research field and in related areas outside the field to review the state-of-the-art and prioritize future objectives with regard to: 1) Production and characterization of lactoferrin for use in mechanistic and efficacy studies, 2) The structure function relationships of lactoferrin with regard to the transferrin family and its role in regulation of iron homeostasis, 3) Physiological and environmental factors regulating the expression of the lactoferrin gene, 4) Molecular mechanisms of interaction of lactoferrin with both bacteria and mammalian cells, 5) Antibacterial and antiviral activities of lactoferrin, and 6) Role and molecular mechanisms of growth inhibition of tumor cells by lactoferrin. There have been significant developments in this field in the past few years, most notably in the successful development of recombinant lactoferrin production systems for human clinical studies, increased understanding of the molecular mechanisms of environmental regulation and mode of action of lactoferrin, and most importantly a dramatic shift in emphasis from in vitro assay systems to preclinical and human clinical model systems to address lactoferrin's functions and efficacy in vivo. The conference is timely given the rapid development in this area and urgent need to identify alternative approaches to conventional antibiotic therapies for the treatment of infectious disease and immune compromised patients. The ability of components of the first line of defense including lactoferrin to rapidly combat a broad range of microbial and chemical challenges encountered at mucosal surfaces provides one of the most promising approaches to meet this need over the next decade.