乳铁素——来源于乳铁蛋白的多功能抗菌肽

乳铁素是乳铁蛋白在酸性环境条件下经胃蛋白酶水解从N-端释放的多功能活性多肽．乳铁素不仅保持了完整乳铁蛋白的大部分生物学活性，而且乳铁素的某些生物学活性比乳铁蛋白更强．乳铁素具有抗细菌、抗真菌、抗病毒、抗肿瘤、免疫调节和抗炎症等多种生物学功能．然而，乳铁素的生物学作用大部分是通过体外试验发现和验证的，乳铁素的体内生物学效应还需更多的试验加以评价和证实，现代基因组学和蛋白组学分析方法和技术将有助于深入了解乳铁素体内生物学作用机制．本文就乳铁素的结构、生物学功能及其作用机制、制备和应用前景作一综述．

Lactoferricin: A Lactoferrin-derived Multifunctional Antimicrobial Peptide

Lactoferricin is an multifunctional polypeptide derived from the N-terminal region of intact lactoferrin through pepsin hydrolysis under acidic conditions. In some cases, the activity of lactoferricin is more potent than that of lactoferrin, including the anti-bacterial (gram-positive or negative), antifungal, antiviral, antitumour, immunomodulatory and anti-inflammatory activities. Comparing to the verified effects of lactoferricin by in vitro experiments, its in vivo effects is being investigated, involving genomic and proteomic approaches for insight mechanistic studies. This article reviews the structure, biological activities and mechanisms of lactoferricin,as also projects its prospects in the preparation and applications．