Lactoferrin Stimulates Mouse Macrophage to Express BAFF via Smad3 Pathway.

Author: Heynkeyung CHANG ¹ ; Bo Ra JIN ; Young Saeng JANG ; Woan Sub KIM ; Pyeung Hyeun KIM
Author Information

1. Department of Molecular Bioscience, College of Biomedical Science, Kangwon National University, Chuncheon 200-701, Korea. phkim@kangwon.ac.kr
Publication Type:Original Article
Keywords: Lactoferrin; BAFF; Smad3; Smad4; Macrophage; TGF-beta1
MeSH: Animals; Cell Proliferation; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; Humans; Lactoferrin; Macrophages; Mice; Transforming Growth Factor beta1
From:Immune Network 2012;12(3):84-88
CountryRepublic of Korea
Language:English
Abstract: B cell-activating factor belonging to the TNF family (BAFF) is primarily expressed by macrophages and stimulates B cell proliferation, differentiation, survival, and Ig production. In this study, we explored the effect of lactoferrin (LF) on BAFF expression by murine macrophages. We determined the level of BAFF expression at the transcriptional and protein levels using RT-PCR and ELISA, respectively. LF markedly enhanced BAFF expression in mouse macrophages at both the transcriptional and protein levels. Overexpression of Smad3/4 further increased LF-induced BAFF transcription while DN-Smad3 abolished the LF-induced BAFF expression. These results demonstrate that LF can enhance BAFF expression through Smad3/4 pathway.