Evidence map›Paper›PMID 21847071›Full record

ReviewMolecules (Basel, Switzerland)2011

Antiviral properties of lactoferrin--a natural immunity molecule.

Francesca Berlutti, Fabrizio Pantanella, Tiziana Natalizi, Alessandra Frioni, Rosalba Paesano, Antonella Polimeni, Piera Valenti

Registry-linked trialOpen access · goldAbstract readReview
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Review in Molecules (Basel, Switzerland), 2011. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT05936528 (The Effect of Lactoferrin in Improving Clinical Outcomes in ICU Patients), which is not on this map. Cited by 154 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
154citing papers in PubMed, 3 pooled it
6.0field-weighted citation impact, top 3% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

NCT05936528 phase4completednot on this mapstarted 2025, after this paper: background citation

The Effect of Lactoferrin in Improving Clinical Outcomes in ICU Patients

TypeinterventionalSponsorMansoura University HospitalRan2025 to 2026Enrolled660ConditionsCritical IllnessArmsLactoferrin, Antioxidant therapies, Dexamethasone, Antibacterial therapies
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

154 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 355 citations in OpenAlex.

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  11. Beyond the Barrier: Epithelial Cells as Immune Sentinels in the Female Genital Tract.American journal of reproductive immunology (New York, N.Y. : 1989) · 2026
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94 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Francesca BerluttiDepartment of Public Health and Infectious Diseases, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome 00185, Italy.
Fabrizio Pantanella
Tiziana Natalizi
Alessandra Frioni
Rosalba Paesano
Antonella Polimeni
Piera Valenti
Sapienza University of Rome · IT

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Lactoferrin, a multifunctional iron binding glycoprotein, plays an important role in immune regulation and defence mechanisms against bacteria, fungi and viruses. Lactoferrin's iron withholding ability is related to inhibition of microbial growth as well as to modulation of motility, aggregation and biofilm formation of pathogenic bacteria. Independently of iron binding capability, lactoferrin interacts with microbial, viral and cell surfaces thus inhibiting microbial and viral adhesion and entry into host cells. Lactoferrin can be considered not only a primary defense factor against mucosal infections, but also a polyvalent regulator which interacts in viral infectious processes. Its antiviral activity, demonstrated against both enveloped and naked viruses, lies in the early phase of infection, thus preventing entry of virus in the host cell. This activity is exerted by binding to heparan sulphate glycosaminoglycan cell receptors, or viral particles or both. Despite the antiviral effect of lactoferrin, widely demonstrated in vitro studies, few clinical trials have been carried out and the related mechanism of action is still under debate. The nuclear localization of lactoferrin in different epithelial human cells suggests that lactoferrin exerts its antiviral effect not only in the early phase of surface interaction virus-cell, but also intracellularly. The capability of lactoferrin to exert a potent antiviral activity, through its binding to host cells and/or viral particles, and its nuclear localization strengthens the idea that lactoferrin is an important brick in the mucosal wall, effective against viral attacks and it could be usefully applied as novel strategy for treatment of viral infections.

Indexed as

Immunity, InnateLactoferrinAnimalsAntiviral AgentsBinding SitesCatsCattleFemaleHeparan SulfateHumansIron Chelating AgentsMiceModels, MolecularProtein BindingRatsVirus DiseasesAntiviral AgentsHeparan SulfateIron Chelating AgentsLactoferrin

Identifiers

PMID21847071
PMCPMC6264778
OpenAlexW2048747284

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.