Transfer
factor: Long-awaited
next step in immunotherapy
DVM
News Magazine
February
1, 2003
By: Kenneth L. Marcella DVM
Link
to the same article on Thoroughbred Times.Com
Slow
in coming
Devastatingly
familiar Equine references- cushings ,immunodeficiency
complex, chronic laminitis, Respiratory problems in young
foals, allergies, skin infections, and hoof wall diseases,
immune system dysfunction.
Structure,
function
In
the beginning
Recognizes
antigens
Natural
killer
Suppresses
immune function
Obvious
advantages Equine References- Cushing's disease,
laminitis, colitis, cancers ranging from sarcoids to melanomas
and reproductive conditions such as chronic metritis.
Immunotherapy
was predicted to be one of the most rapidly expanding areas
of medical science in this decade.
Proposed
advances in our ability to manipulate the protection offered
by the body's own immune system were going to make humans and
animals far healthier and were promising to increase both the
length and quality of life.
Immune
agents were going to be our new defenses against those microorganisms
that no longer responded to antibiotics and diseases from allergies
to cancer were going to be subdued by this new field.
Slow
in coming
To
date, however, those advances have been slow in coming. We
have not been able to manipulate the body's own defenses as
planned and we have few effective immune stimulants.
Positive
research data has been piling up concerning the most promising
immune agent in years, though, and immunologists may be finally
making good on their earlier predictions.
Transfer
factor, as
this new immune compound is being called, may be the long-awaited "next step" and
it may be everything that was promised.
Richard
Bennet Ph.D., an infectious disease immunologist writes, "It
is our ability to create a really healthy immune system that
I think represents the greatest potential gains in health in
the world."
It
is the immune system, after all, which provides humans and
animals with the ability to recognize and remember potentially
harmful foreign substances such as bacteria and viruses. The
immune system allows us to then respond to these threatening
invaders in our systems.
Devastatingly
familiar
The
consequences of conditions of suppressed or damaged immune
systems are devastatingly familiar to veterinarians.
Arab
foals with combined immunodeficiency complex and older
horses with chronic laminitis due to Cushing's disease-related
effects are but two such examples. Respiratory problems in young
foals, allergies, skin infections, and hoof wall diseases
are other problems that can also be related to immune system
dysfunction.
A
new agent that would vastly improve immune function in horses
would certainly warrant some attention. Transfer
factor promises to be this new agent. It is a component
of colostrum and is produced to be used as a powder added to
the diet.
Structure,
function
To
understand what this colostral derivative may potentially mean
to veterinarians and horses, it is necessary to briefly
review the structure and function of the immune system.
The
body has two principal immune defense systems: humoral and
cellular. B-lymphocytes in the liver, spleen, lymph nodes and
bone marrow produce plasma cells that in turn produce antibodies
in the gamma globulin fraction. These immunoglobulins can potentially
recognize huge numbers of antigens. This is the basis of humoral
immunity.
Humoral
immunoglobulins are primarily designed to fight bacterial infections.
Lymphocytes that populate the thymus become responsible for
cellular immunity. These cells produce structures called lymphokines
that mediate delayed hypersensitivity or allergic reactions.
They are responsible for rejection of transferred foreign tissue
and for the recognition and rejection of tumor cells.
The
cellular immunity system is responsible for defense against
infections due to viruses, fungi and some types of bacteria
and cancers. Transfer
factor stimulates both portions of the immune system.
In
the beginning
In
1949, Dr. H. Sherwood Lawrence, a researcher working on tuberculosis,
found that he could transfer immunity between patients using
fractionated white blood cells. The key ingredient was a part
of the lymphocyte cell, and Lawrence called this component "transfer
factor."
This
discovery was not actively pursued for nearly 30 years until
the late '80s. At that time colostrum and milk were discovered
to contain significant amounts of transfer factor. The exact
mechanism of action of transfer factor has never been determined
but it is now known that transfer factor is a lymphokine. The
two most notable lymphokines are interferon and interleukins.
These
lymphokines are protein messengers thought to be released by
antigen-sensitized lymphocytes. They play a role in macrophage
activation, lymphocyte transformation (the process of precursor
cells becoming B and T cells), and in cell-mediated immunity.
Transfer factor is one of the most potent messengers and has
three distinct effects on the immune system. History
of TF
Recognizes
antigens
Transfer
factor helps the body recognize antigens.
Dr.
Metz, a veterinarian consulting for 4LifeResearch, the company
which has the patent for extracting transfer factor from colostrum,
points out that 200 mg (one capsule) of transfer factor has
the potential for recognizing at least 100,000 pathogens. Metz
adds that not only can transfer factor be specific for an individual
antigen that a lymphocyte is exposed to, but "transfer factor
can also stimulate a multivalent response."
In
this type of response, transfer factor activates lymphocytes
to several strains of an organism.
"This
is the really exciting part of transfer factor from a practicing
veterinary standpoint," says Metz.
4LifeResearch
has found that by exposing cattle to various bacteria and viruses
they can produce transfer factor that will stimulate immunity
to other related strains of bacteria and viruses that are much
more pathogenic to other species.
"The
other really exciting aspect of transfer factor," says Metz, "is
the time sequence."
Most
types of delayed hypersensitivity immunity, such as that seen
with vaccine use, take 10 to 14 days to develop. Transfer factor,
according to Metz, activates that same immunity in 24 hours!
Natural
killer
Transfer
factor is also a natural killer cell inductor. These cells
are non-specific attack cells that seek out and destroy infected
or malignant cells and cells infected by viruses.
Transfer
factor increases natural killer cell activity five times over
normal rates and it is non-species specific. It is believed
that this aspect of transfer factor is related to the significant
improvements seen in certain cancer patients that have taken
this product. Multiple sclerosis patients have also shown improvements. Natural
Killer Cell Study
Transfer
factor in cats, dogs, horses, cows and humans is virtually
identical structurally and completely identical functionally.
This has helped in the production of this product since cows
can produce large quantities of colostrum that is then used
for extraction of transfer factor.
A
number of companies are producing colostrum and claiming that
these products contain transfer factor. While this is true,
only 4LifeResearch has the exclusive patent on the process
to extract only transfer factor. This process allows for the
concentrated and purified production of transfer factor. The
difference between bovine colostrum and Patented TF
Suppresses
immune function
Transfer
factor is also a suppressor of immune function.
It
is paradoxical that the same product can both stimulate and
suppress immune function but transfer factor function depends
on the specific antigens and the status of the immune response.
Transfer factor can stimulate the release of T suppressor cells
when "down" regulation is necessary due to over activity. Autoimmune
diseases, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and
allergic reactions are situations where the body's own immune
response has over-responded to antigenic stimulation. Transfer
factor works in these situations because it can slow down this
overactive response.
The Need and Role for Transfer Factors Dr
Richard Bennett
Ph.D
Obvious
advantages
While
discussions of the immune system tend to be fairly technical,
the practical advantages of a potent new immune stimulating
treatment are obvious.
The
ability to stimulate the horse's body to attack and
destroy bacteria and viruses will reduce the amount and types
of antibiotics that may need to be used by veterinarians. It
is important to try to retain those antibiotics that are available
to veterinarians and to use them in a way that will maintain
their effectiveness for as long as possible.
If
veterinarians can stimulate a better immune response
to respiratory bacteria, skin pathogens and various viruses,
then the need to use antibiotics is lessened. If transfer
factor can produce such boosts in immunity in 24 hours then
the potential for use as a pre-travel protectant, or a post-exposure
treatment is tremendous.
Horses suffering
from other diseases such as Cushing's disease, laminitis,
colitis, cancers ranging from sarcoids to melanomas and reproductive
conditions such as chronic metritis, may all benefit from
transfer factor use. This product may indeed be the long-awaited
next step and the field of immunotherapy may finally fulfill
its promise.
Human
Diseases as listed in Patent 4816563:Linked to the
Transfer Factor™
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