Inhibitory activity of bovine lactoferrin against echovirus induced programmed cell death in vitro.

Lactoferrin is a glycoprotein and plays an important role in defence against pathogens. Although the antiviral activity of lactoferrin is one of the major biological functions of such protein, the mechanism of action is still under debate. The effect of lactoferrin on echovirus 6 infection in vitro was analysed and results showed that (i) cells infected with echovirus 6, died as a result of apoptosis and that (ii) programmed cell death was inhibited by lactoferrin treatment. In this report, we demonstrate that lactoferrin can exert its anti-enteroviral activity by preventing viral-induced apoptosis.