Lactoferrin from canine neutrophils: isolation and physicochemical and antimicrobial properties.

Lactoferrin has been isolated from canine leukocytes for the first time. Lactoferrin was identified by N-terminal amino acid sequence and by capability to capture ferric cations resulting in a complex with absorbance maximum at 460-470 nm. It is demonstrated that canine lactoferrin resembles the human homolog in some physicochemical properties, i.e. molecular weight, carbohydrate presence, and conditions of protein-iron complex dissociation. Bactericidal activity of dog lactoferrin was demonstrated on the gram-negative bacterium Escherichia coli and gram-positive bacterium Listeria monocytogenes. Bactericidal activity of canine lactoferrin is similar to that of human lactoferrin.