If you got the chance to do the experiment again, would you do it using Lactoferrin, or would you try with a different substance and why? Great presentation, very thorough!
Hi Danya, thank you for the question! If I were to conduct the experiment again, I would absolutely use Lactoferrin again. In our initial literature review, there were limited studies that explored the antimicrobial effects of Lactoferrin in Salmonella. As such, I think this study helped us better understand the alleged antimicrobial properties of Lactoferrin that we otherwise wouldn’t have known. Now that we have preliminary results, I think future students can replicate our study and potentially modify it to see if they can enhance the results we observed from this study.
Hi Jade, great question! Based on our literature review, we found that Lactoferrin appeared to inhibit growth in E. Coli using a smaller concentration. In case you’re interested, here’s the link to the referenced study: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666910221000107
Do you know if there is any correlation between the species whose milk lactoferrin is extracted from and the species whose infections can be treated/cured by the lactoferrin?
Hi Lucie, thanks for the question! Based on our research, there were 2 main factors that could impact the efficacy of Lactoferrin: (1) the concentration of Lactoferrin present, and (2) the isoform of Lactoferrin (alpha, beta, or gamma).
For the first factor, we do know that different species will produce milk that have varying levels of Lactoferrin. For example, cow’s milk will have a much lower concentration of Lactoferrin when compared to human breast milk. As a result, the low concentration of Lactoferrin in cow’s milk didn’t seem to yield better antimicrobial results. Even within human breast milk, there were varying concentrations of Lactoferrin found in some breast milk studies that were conducted in China and Poland. With that said, lactoferrin procured from human breast milk appeared to show better inhibition of bacterial growth in some studies we found.
As for the isoform of Lactoferrin, there was a study that we found that indicated that the alpha isoform is the one that binds to iron. This isoform is found in human breast milk, which is the form of lactoferrin we used in this experiment. We would need to conduct more research (and partner with the Synthetic Biology students!) to understand if different isoforms are observed in different species and determine whether that would lead to different results as it relates to bacterial inhibition or bacterial death.
Good presentation! Do you think Lactoferrin has potential to act as an antibiotic through further testing and perhaps modifications, or do you think antibiotic drug developers should rule this out?
Hi Gabby – absolutely! We tested the impacts of Lactoferrin using Salmonella Typhimurium that was cultured in M9 Minimal Media, which is actually a very rich environment for the bacteria to grow. This is not the same environment that S. Typhimurium would be exposed to in our bodies, if we were infected. As such, I think there’s definitely a chance to test Lactoferrin with S. Typhimurium in an environment that more closely matches the physiological environment to see whether Lactoferrin would yield better results.
Good presentation! Do you think Lactoferrin has potential as an antibiotic through further testing and modications, or do you think it should be ruled out?
Good presentation! Do you think Lactoferrin has potential as an antibiotic through further testing and modications, or do you think it should be ruled out?
Hi Shwetan, I’m not sure if I understand your question but I’ll try to respond! Please feel free to add an additional comment if I can further clarify.
Lactoferrin is a compound we tested with Salmonella Typhimurium as our model organism. Lactoferrin is hypothesized to target a metabolite synthesis / use mechanism by binding to free iron in bacterial cells and preventing the bacteria from using that iron for their metabolic pathways. As such, I believe Lactoferrin would be behave the same way in other bacterial cells. In our literature, we did find some studies that tested Lactoferrin in Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia Coli, for example.
curesymposium.org 
If you got the chance to do the experiment again, would you do it using Lactoferrin, or would you try with a different substance and why? Great presentation, very thorough!
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Hi Danya, thank you for the question! If I were to conduct the experiment again, I would absolutely use Lactoferrin again. In our initial literature review, there were limited studies that explored the antimicrobial effects of Lactoferrin in Salmonella. As such, I think this study helped us better understand the alleged antimicrobial properties of Lactoferrin that we otherwise wouldn’t have known. Now that we have preliminary results, I think future students can replicate our study and potentially modify it to see if they can enhance the results we observed from this study.
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Are there any other bacteria that you think Lactoferrin would work better with, meaning have a higher absorption rate?
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Hi Jade, great question! Based on our literature review, we found that Lactoferrin appeared to inhibit growth in E. Coli using a smaller concentration. In case you’re interested, here’s the link to the referenced study: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666910221000107
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Do you know if there is any correlation between the species whose milk lactoferrin is extracted from and the species whose infections can be treated/cured by the lactoferrin?
LikeLike
Hi Lucie, thanks for the question! Based on our research, there were 2 main factors that could impact the efficacy of Lactoferrin: (1) the concentration of Lactoferrin present, and (2) the isoform of Lactoferrin (alpha, beta, or gamma).
For the first factor, we do know that different species will produce milk that have varying levels of Lactoferrin. For example, cow’s milk will have a much lower concentration of Lactoferrin when compared to human breast milk. As a result, the low concentration of Lactoferrin in cow’s milk didn’t seem to yield better antimicrobial results. Even within human breast milk, there were varying concentrations of Lactoferrin found in some breast milk studies that were conducted in China and Poland. With that said, lactoferrin procured from human breast milk appeared to show better inhibition of bacterial growth in some studies we found.
As for the isoform of Lactoferrin, there was a study that we found that indicated that the alpha isoform is the one that binds to iron. This isoform is found in human breast milk, which is the form of lactoferrin we used in this experiment. We would need to conduct more research (and partner with the Synthetic Biology students!) to understand if different isoforms are observed in different species and determine whether that would lead to different results as it relates to bacterial inhibition or bacterial death.
Let me know if you have any follow up questions!
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Good presentation! Do you think Lactoferrin has potential to act as an antibiotic through further testing and perhaps modifications, or do you think antibiotic drug developers should rule this out?
LikeLike
Hi Gabby – absolutely! We tested the impacts of Lactoferrin using Salmonella Typhimurium that was cultured in M9 Minimal Media, which is actually a very rich environment for the bacteria to grow. This is not the same environment that S. Typhimurium would be exposed to in our bodies, if we were infected. As such, I think there’s definitely a chance to test Lactoferrin with S. Typhimurium in an environment that more closely matches the physiological environment to see whether Lactoferrin would yield better results.
LikeLike
Good presentation! Do you think Lactoferrin has potential as an antibiotic through further testing and modications, or do you think it should be ruled out?
LikeLike
Good presentation! Do you think Lactoferrin has potential as an antibiotic through further testing and modications, or do you think it should be ruled out?
LikeLike
How would Lactoferrin be targeted to only Salmonella Typhimurium and not other bacteria it may affect?
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Hi Shwetan, I’m not sure if I understand your question but I’ll try to respond! Please feel free to add an additional comment if I can further clarify.
Lactoferrin is a compound we tested with Salmonella Typhimurium as our model organism. Lactoferrin is hypothesized to target a metabolite synthesis / use mechanism by binding to free iron in bacterial cells and preventing the bacteria from using that iron for their metabolic pathways. As such, I believe Lactoferrin would be behave the same way in other bacterial cells. In our literature, we did find some studies that tested Lactoferrin in Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia Coli, for example.
LikeLike