Anticarcinogenesis pathways activated by bovine lactoferrin in the murine small intestine

Abstract Oral administration of bovine lactoferrin (bLF) inhibits carcinogenesis in the colon and other organs in rats, and lung metastasis in mice. A likely mechanism by which bLF mediates its anticarcinogenesis effects is by enhanced expression of cytokines and subsequent activation of immune cells. Oral administration of bLF enhances expression of interleukin-18 (IL-18) mRNA in the mucosa of the small intestine of mice. Importantly, the pepsin hydrolysate of bLF (bLFH) also induced expression of IL-18 mRNA in the mouse small intestine and a peptide produced by pepsin digestion of bLF, bovine lactoferricin (bLFcin), induced expression of mature IL-18 in organ culture. In addition to IL-18, bLF and bLFcin both induced significant increases in caspase-1 activity in peritoneal macrophages and in organ cultures. The increase of mature IL-18 by macrophages was inhibited by caspase-1 inhibitor: caspase-1 is known to cleave the proform of IL-18 to produce active mature IL-18. Finally, bLF also induced expression of IFNγ by peritoneal macrophages. Importantly, in IFNγ knockout (GKO) mice, bLF administration resulted in increased expression of caspase-1 protein, but induction of IL-18 mRNA, caspase-1 activity, and mature IL-18 was not observed. These results indicate that orally administered bLF can induce expression of IFNγ and caspase-1 in the small intestine. IFNγ in turn increases expression of target genes, including IL-18. Active caspase-1 then cleaves pro-IL-18 to generate mature IL-18. Thus, bLF activates an effector pathway mediated by IFNγ, caspase-1, and IL-18. We also show that ingested bLF is able to activate more than a single effector pathway. For example, in GKO mice while bLF administration could not activate the IFNγ/caspase-1/IL-18 effector pathway, it was able to inhibit tumor growth and metastasis by activation of an IFNα/IL-7 effector pathway.