Question

How do lysozyme, lactoferrin and lactoperoxidase kill or inhibit pathogens?

Answer 1

Lysozyme is capable of breaking the chemical bonds in the outer cell wall of the bacteria. Bacterial cell walls contain a layer of peptidoglycan, which is the specific site that lysozyme targets.  For this reason, lysozyme can more readily destroy gram-positive bacteria than gram-negative bacteria.

Lactoferrin can inhibit the pathogen from binding to the host by binding to the lipopolysaccharide of the bacterial wall, ultimately resulting in bacterial cell lysis.

The lactoperoxidase system plays an important role in the innate immune system by killing bacteria in milk and mucosal (linings of mostly endodermal origin, covered in epithelium, which are involved in absorption and secretion).