Molecules, Vol. 28, Pages 7961: Discovery of Transfer Factors in Plant-Derived Proteins and an In Vitro Assessment of Their Immunological Activities

Molecules, Vol. 28, Pages 7961: Discovery of Transfer Factors in Plant-Derived Proteins and an In Vitro Assessment of Their Immunological Activities Molecules doi: 10.3390/molecules28247961 Authors: Mesfin Yimam Teresa Horm Shengxin Cai Alexandria O’Neal Ping Jiao Mei Hong Thida Tea Qi Jia Repeated exposure to pathogens leads to evolutionary selection of adaptive traits. Many species transfer immunological memory to their offspring to counteract future immune challenges. Transfer factors such as those found in the colostrum are among the many mechanisms where transfer of immunologic memory from one generation to the next can be achieved for an enhanced immune response. Here, a library of 100 plants with high protein contents was screened to find plant-based proteins that behave like a transfer factor moiety to boost human immunity. Aqueous extracts from candidate plants were tested in a human peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) cytotoxicity assay using human cancerous lymphoblast cells—with K562 cells as a target and natural killer cells as an effector. Plant extracts that caused PBMCs to exhibit enhanced killing beyond the capability of the colostrum-based transfer factor were considered hits. Primary screening yielded an 11% hit rate. The protein contents of these hits were tested via a Bradford assay and Coomassie-stained SDS-PAGE, where three extracts were confirmed to have high protein contents. Plants with high protein contents...
Source: Molecules - Category: Chemistry Authors: Tags: Article Source Type: research