Transcriptome analysis reveals the mechanism of bovine lactoferrin against lipopolysaccharide-induced acute lung injury

Lactoferrin (LF) is an iron-binding multifunctional cationic glycoprotein secreted by exocrine glands and neutrophils in mammals. In this study, we created a mouse model of lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced acute lung injury and explored the anti-inflammatory effect and mechanism of bovine lactoferrin (bLF) in acute lung injury using the RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) technology and transcriptome analysis. A total of 24 mice were randomly divided into 4 groups (n = 6): control, LPS (lipopolysaccharide, 50 μL, 1 μg/μL), bLF (bovine lactoferrin, 200 mg/kg/day), and treatment (LPS+bLF). After 14 days of modeling, lung tissues of 12 mice from the control, LPS, bLF, and LPS+bLF groups (n = 3) were used for RNA-seq analysis. mRNA library construction and transcriptome sequencing (RNA-seq) were performed by the BGI Institute of Life Sciences (Shenzhen, China).