lactoferrin and Tonsillitis

Recurrent tonsillitis is an oral pathology characterized by inflammation of tonsils. The disease susceptibility depends upon environmental and host factors, specifically the innate immune response, the first line of host defence could play an important role. Among innate immunity members, lactoferrin, known for its antimicrobial properties, was previously correlated with the risk of oral pathology as periodontitis and dental caries.. 89 Italian children presenting recurrent tonsillitis and 95 healthy children were genotyped for two LTF non-synonymous polymorphisms, called Thr29Ala and Arg47Lys, in order to investigate their potential role in recurrent tonsillitis susceptibility.. no different allele, genotype and haplotype frequency distributions were detected comparing patients and controls.. data from the current study indicate that LTF polymorphisms might not be involved in recurrent tonsillitis development in our Italian population. However, since the importance of lactoferrin in oral immunity has been previously assessed, further studies should be necessary to unravel the potential role of LTF genetic variants in oral cavity.

Topics: Alleles; Case-Control Studies; Child; Female; Genetic Predisposition to Disease; Genotype; Haplotypes; Humans; Immunity, Innate; Italy; Lactoferrin; Male; Polymorphism, Genetic; Recurrence; Tonsillitis; White People

Muramidase and lactoferrin are important components of the antimicrobial defense system. Muramidase has the ability of opsonization and immunopotentiation and therefore a close relation to the lymphatic tissue. Till now there are only immunohistochemical and microbiological studies on the presence of muramidase and lactoferrin in adenoid and tonsil tissue available.. We investigated the concentrations of muramidase and lactoferrin in palatine tonsils and adenoidal hypertrophies quantitatively using ELISA.. We investigated tissue of 18 palatine tonsils and 16 pharyngeal tonsils.. We found a significant difference in the concentration of muramidase but no difference in the concentration of lactoferrin between adenoids and tonsils. There was no significant difference in the concentration of lactoferrin and muramidase between the hypertrophic and chronic infected tonsils. There was no correlation between the age of the patients and the concentration of muramidase and lactoferrin. A connection between the microbial biofilm, the concentration of the proteins and the recurrent tonsillitis is discussed.. Due to the production of muramidase and lactoferrin adenoids and tonsils play an important role in the local antimicrobial defense in any age or inflammation.

Topics: Adenoids; Adolescent; Adult; Age Factors; Biofilms; Child; Child, Preschool; Chronic Disease; Data Interpretation, Statistical; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; Humans; Hypertrophy; Lactoferrin; Middle Aged; Muramidase; Palatine Tonsil; Tonsillectomy; Tonsillitis

Oral and pharyngeal cavities harbor a commensal bacterial flora which is kept in check by several innate and acquired agents. In this study, we focused on the proportions in which some antibacterial moderators (lysozyme, lactoferrin, IgG and S-IgA) coat the tonsillar surface bacteria in healthy individuals, in patients with acute tonsillitis (AT) culture-positive for Streptococcus pyogenes, and in patients with infectious mononucleosis (IM) caused by Epstein-Barr virus (EBV).. Bacterial samples were collected for aerobic culturing and immunocytochemical evaluation from the tonsillar surfaces of eight healthy individuals (four males, four females; age range 16-22 years), eight patients with current AT (two males, six females; age range 16-29 years) and seven patients with IM (four males, three females; age range 15-21 years). The immunocytochemical assay was based on gold-labeled antiserum to human lysozyme, lactoferrin, IgG and S-IgA followed by gold particle tracing in the transmission electron microscope.. During AT, a significant increase in lysozyme coating (P<0.05) and lactoferrin coating (P<0.0005) of the bacteria was noted, whereas the S-IgA coating was significantly reduced (P<0.0005). During IM infection, a significant increase in lactoferrin coating was noted (P<0.0005) whereas immunoglobulin coating was significantly reduced (IgG P<0.025; S-IgA P<0.0005) compared with healthy controls. During IM, all antibacterial moderators evaluated were significantly reduced compared with the situation during AT.. Noticeable changes in the local innate and acquired bacterial defence system were observed during tonsillar infections, particularly during IM.

Topics: Acute Disease; Adolescent; Adult; Case-Control Studies; Female; Herpesvirus 4, Human; Humans; Immunity, Innate; Immunoglobulin A; Immunoglobulin G; Immunohistochemistry; Infectious Mononucleosis; Lactoferrin; Male; Muramidase; Palatine Tonsil; Streptococcal Infections; Streptococcus pyogenes; Tonsillitis

Bacterial samples were obtained from the tonsillar surfaces of seven patients (four males, three females; median age 18 years, range 15 to 21 years) suffering from acute infectious mononucleosis with concomitant pharyngotonsillitis, and from five healthy controls. By using gold-labelled antiserum to human lysozyme and lactoferrin, micro-organisms on the tonsillar surfaces coated with these antibacterial substances could be identified by tracing the gold particles in the transmission electron microscope. In healthy individuals, most of the bacteria were coated with lysozyme and significantly more bacteria were coated with lysozyme than with lactoferrin (p < 0.01). In patients there was a non-significant reduction in lysozyme-coating of the bacteria, whereas lactoferrin-coating was significantly increased (p < 0.01). Changes in the lysozyme and/or lactoferrin coating of the tonsillar surface bacteria on the palatine tonsils during infectious mononucleosis cannot explain the tendency to immense local bacterial colonization with commensals and proneness to bacterial penetration into the epithelial cells.

Topics: Adolescent; Adult; Bacteria; Bacterial Infections; Epstein-Barr Virus Infections; Female; Humans; Immunohistochemistry; Lactoferrin; Male; Muramidase; Palatine Tonsil; Statistics, Nonparametric; Tonsillitis