Definition

An orally bioavailable recombinant human lactoferrin produced in the fungus Aspergillus niger with potential antineoplastic and immunomodulating activities. Upon oral administration, talactoferrin is transported into small intestinal Peyer’s patches of the gut-associated lymphoreticular tissues (GALT), where it recruits circulating immature dendritic cells (DCs) bearing tumor antigens and induces their maturation. In the GALT, DC maturation in the presence of tumor antigens and lymphoid effector cells may induce systemic innate and adaptive immune responses mediated by anti-tumor natural killer (NK) cells, cytotoxic T lymphocytes, and natural killer T (NKT) cells; activation of tumor-draining lymph nodes, cellular infiltration of distant tumors, and tumor-cell death may follow. Raising the initial immune response in the GALT, distant from the primary tumor, may counter local tumor-mediated immunosuppression.