ArticlePharmaceutics2022
Lactoferrin Binding to SARS-CoV-2 Spike Glycoprotein Blocks Pseudoviral Entry and Relieves Iron Protein Dysregulation in Several In Vitro Models.
Article in Pharmaceutics, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 15 papers.
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.
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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
15 citing papers in PubMed, 21 citations in OpenAlex.
- Myeloid Cell States in Influenza-Associated Pulmonary Aspergillosis Are Shaped by Iron Overload and Metabolic Reprogramming.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Inhibition of Human Coronavirus 229E by Lactoferrin-Derived Peptidomimetics.Pharmaceutics · 2025Article
- Effect of Iron on Viral Infections.Food and environmental virology · 2025Review
- Lactoferrin-A Regulator of Iron Homeostasis and Its Implications in Cancer.Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Lactoferrin Supplementation in Preventing and Protecting from SARS-CoV-2 Infection: Is There Any Role in General and Special Populations? An Updated Review of Literature.International journal of molecular sciences · 2024Review
- Lactoferrin Binds through Its N-Terminus to the Receptor-Binding Domain of the SARS-CoV-2 Spike Protein.Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Lactoferrins in Their Interactions with Molecular Targets: A Structure-Based Overview.Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Review
- The potential of lactoferrin as antiviral and immune-modulating agent in viral infectious diseases.Frontiers in immunology · 2024Review
- To Boost or to Reset: The Role of Lactoferrin in Energy Metabolism.International journal of molecular sciences · 2023Review
- Green synthesis, characterization, anti-SARS-CoV-2 entry, and replication of lactoferrin-coated zinc nanoparticles with halting lung fibrosis induced in adult male albino rats.Scientific reports · 2023Article
- Molecular mimicry of the receptor-binding domain of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein: from the interaction of spike-specific antibodies with transferrin and lactoferrin to the antiviral effects of human recombinant lactoferrin.Biometals : an international journal on the role of metal ions in biology, biochemistry, and medicine · 2023Article
- Iron Saturation Drives Lactoferrin Effects on Oxidative Stress and Neurotoxicity Induced by HIV-1 Tat.International journal of molecular sciences · 2023Article
- Liposomal Lactoferrin Exerts Antiviral Activity against HCoV-229E and SARS-CoV-2 Pseudoviruses In Vitro.Viruses · 2023Article
- Time to Kill and Time to Heal: The Multifaceted Role of Lactoferrin and Lactoferricin in Host Defense.Pharmaceutics · 2023Review
- The Influence of Viral Infections on Iron Homeostasis and the Potential for Lactoferrin as a Therapeutic in the Age of the SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic.Nutrients · 2022Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
12 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
SARS-CoV-2 causes COVID-19, a predominantly pulmonary disease characterized by a burst of pro-inflammatory cytokines and an increase in free iron. The viral glycoprotein Spike mediates fusion to the host cell membrane, but its role as a virulence factor is largely unknown. Recently, the antiviral activity of lactoferrin against SARS-CoV-2 was demonstrated in vitro and shown to occur via binding to cell surface receptors, and its putative interaction with Spike was suggested by in silico analyses. We investigated the anti-SARS-CoV-2 activity of bovine and human lactoferrins in epithelial and macrophagic cells using a Spike-decorated pseudovirus. Lactoferrin inhibited pseudoviral fusion and counteracted the deleterious effects of Spike on iron and inflammatory homeostasis by restoring basal levels of iron-handling proteins and of proinflammatory cytokines IL-1β and IL-6. Using pull-down assays, we experimentally proved for the first time that lactoferrin binds to Spike, immediately suggesting a mechanism for the observed effects. The contribution of transferrin receptor 1 to Spike-mediated cell fusion was also experimentally demonstrated. In silico analyses showed that lactoferrin interacts with transferrin receptor 1, suggesting a multifaceted mechanism of action for lactoferrin. Our results give hope for the use of bovine lactoferrin, already available as a nutraceutical, as an adjuvant to standard therapies in COVID-19.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
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.