Lactoferrin-binding proteins in Bifidobacterium bifidum

Lactoferrin is an iron-binding glycoprotein and its bacteriostatic and bactericidal effects on gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria are well known. On the other hand, it is known that certain kinds of lactic acid bacteria are resistant to its antibacterial effects. Moreover, it is reported that lactoferrin promotes the growth of bifidobacteria in in vitro and in vivo experiments. In our experiments, lactoferrin-binding protein was found both in the membrane and cytosolic fractions of Bifidobacterium bifidum Bb-11. The bifidobacteria were grown in anaerobic conditions with lactobacilli MRS broth containing cysteine, harvested by centrifugation, and processed by sonication. The lactoferrin-binding proteins on the PVDF-membrane transferred after SDS-PAGE were detected by far-Western (western-Western) method using biotinylated lactoferrin and streptavidin-labelled horse radish peroxidase. The molecular weights of the lactoferrin binding protein detected in the membrane fraction were estimated to be 69 kDa and those in cytosolic fractions were 20, 35, 50, and 66 kDa.