Abstract

Comparison of the Cytotoxic Activity of Transfer Factor Extracted from Colostrum, Egg Yolk and Human Leukocytes

Author(s): David L Vollmer, Ramon Simon-Lopez

Introduction: One of the ways to evidence the immunological activity of any substance is to mix the candidate substance to a mix of Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cell (PBMC), and a K-652 cell line. Transfer Factors (TF) are very small polypeptides (sequence of amino acids) that are the messengers of the immune system. It has been suggested that they play a very im-portant role in the immune system, including the increase of the natural killer cell function. In this study the purpose was to compare the Immunological activity of Interleukin-2 (IL-2), Transfer Factor extracted from Colostrum, Transfer Factor extracted egg yolk and Human dialyzable leukocyte extracts (Blood-based TF).

Methods: We compared the Immunological activity killing K652 cells of 5 different substances:

• PBMC+K562+IL-2

• PBMC+K562 (control)

• PBMC+K562+Colostrum-based TF

• PBMC+K562+Egg-based TF

• PBMC+K562+Blood-based TF, including these components in a cell culture.

Results: It was found an equivalent function of Colostrum based TF (45.23% of killing K652 cells compared to baseline and similar for IL-2 (44.81% of killing K652 cells) and then a lower activity of Egg based Tf (35.18% of killing K652 cells) and Blood based TF (37.80% of killing K652 cells).

Discussion: Sherwood Lawrence discovers Transfer Factors in 1949 and demonstrated their role. In the activation, regulation, and training of the immune system. Originally the TF were obtained from Human dialyzable leukocyte extracts and in 1998 it was developed a method to ob-tain TF from Bovine Colostrum and egg yolk. It was not clear which source was the best activating NK cells and killing K-652 cells. In this study it is suggested that the Bovine ex-tracted TF are the most effective and equivalent to IL-2.