Abstract: | Lactotransferrin, also known as lactoferrin, is an iron binding glycoprotein that
displays antiviral activity against many different infectious agents, including human
immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-1. Lactotransferrin is present in the breast milk and in
the female genitourinary mucosa and it has been hypothesised as a possible candidate
to prevent mother-to-child HIV-1 transmission. To verify if two functional
polymorphisms, Thr29Ala and Arg47Lys, in the lactotransferrin encoding gene (LTF)
could affect HIV-1 infection and vertical transmission, a preliminary association
study was performed in 238 HIV-1 positive and 99 HIV-1 negative children from Brazil,
Italy, Africa and India. No statistically significant association for the Thr29Ala
and Arg47Lys LTF polymorphisms and HIV-1 susceptibility in the studied populations
was found. Additionally LTF polymorphisms frequencies were compared between the four
different ethnic groups. |