This website is directed to health care professionals. Since it appears that you are not trained in the area of biomedicine, I will try to summarize a quite complex situation in relatively simple terms. There is still considerable uncertainty about transfer factor (TF) more than 40 years after the first descriptions of TF activity by Lawrence and colleagues. As I see it, there are a a few aspects of TF about which there is general agreement
1) TF continues to be defined by a biological activity -- the capacity to confer a delayed hypersensitivity (a form of cell-mediated immunity) from a sensitive to a non-sensitive human However, Lawrence's group feels that there may be both activating and suppressing types of TF (see enclosed abstract)
2) TF is a relatively low molecular weight agent (in the range of 3300-10,000 daltons) compound, probably composed mainly of amino acids. .There may be groups, of TF, each specific for particular antigens (see enclosed abstract) . Molecular approaches are currently being used to further characterize the molecular structure of TF.
However, there is considerable controversy is about the possible therapeutic effects of TF in one or another human disorders. Part of the confusion is due to the fact that each group investigating effects of TF in clinical disorders makes their own TF preparations with no evidence to date whether the active ingredients in these preparations are identical or not. Also, most of the clinical studies have not been adequately controlled or "blinded" to avoid possible patient or observer biases. In some cases, an almost evangelical approach to the use of TF has been employed, leading critics to label such approaches as "snake oil" treatments. I believe that well-designed carefully controlled studies employing a standardized TF prep would be worth undertaking to determine whether there is any valid therapeutic role for TF.
Biotherapy 1996;9(1-3):1-5
Transfer factor--current status and future prospects.
Lawrence HS, Borkowsky W.
Department of Medicine, New York University Medical Center, New York, NY 10016, USA.
We have detected new clues to the composition and function of "Transfer Factor" using the direct Leucocyte Migration Inhibition (LMI) test as an in vitro assay of Dialysates of Leucocyte Extracts (DLE). This approach has revealed two opposing antigen-specific activities to be present in the same > 3500 < 12,000 DA dialysis fraction - one activity is possessed of Inducer/Helper function (Inducer Factor). The opposing activity is possessed of Suppressor function (Suppressor Factor). When non-immune leucocyte populations are cultured with Inducer Factor they acquire the capacity to respond to specific antigen and inhibition of migration occurs. This conversion to reactivity is antigen-specific and dose-dependent. When immune leucocyte populations are cultured with Suppressor Factor their response to specific antigen is blocked and Inhibition of Migration is prevented.
Ann N Y Acad Sci 1993 Jun 23;685:362-8
Structural nature and functions of transfer factors.
Kirkpatrick CH.
Conrad D. Stephenson Laboratory for Research in Immunology, National Jewish Center for Immunology and Respiratory Medicine, Denver, Colorado 80206.
Transfer factors are molecules that "educate" recipients to express cell-mediated immunity. This effect is antigen-specific. The most consistent effects of transfer factors on the immune system are expression of delayed-type hypersensitivity and production of lymphokines such as macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF), which is probably identical to gamma-interferon in response to exposure to antigen. Transfer factors bind to antigens in an immunologically specific manner. This discovery has enabled us to isolate individual transfer factors from mixtures that contain several transfer factors. This reactivity probably explains the specificity of individual transfer factors, and it has provided a method for purification of individual transfer factors to apparent homogeneity. The purified materials are immunologically active and antigen-specific. They have molecular weights of approximately 5,000 Da and appear to be composed entirely of amino acids. Transfer factors appear to offer a novel means of molecular immunotherapy for certain patients with defective cell-mediated immunity.
Biotherapy 1996;9(1-3):77-9
The use of transfer factors in chronic fatigue syndrome: prospects and problems.
Levine PH.
Viral Epidemiology Branch, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD, USA.
Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is a heterogeneous disorder characterized by severe prolonged unexplained fatigue and a variety of associated symptoms such as arthralgias, myalgias, cognitive dysfunction, and severe sleep disturbances. Many patients initially present with an acute onset of apparent infectious origin with either an upper respiratory or gastrointestinal illness, fever, chills, tender lymphadenopathy, and malaise suggestive of a flu-like illness. In some cases, specific viral infections can be identified at the outset, particularly herpes viruses such as Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), human herpes virus-6 (HHV-6), and cytomegalovirus (CMV). Transfer factors (TF) with specific activity against these herpes viruses has been documented. With some studies suggesting that persistent viral activity may play a role in perpetuation of CFS symptoms, there appears to be a rationale for the use of TF in patients with CFS and recent reports have suggested that transfer factor may play a beneficial role in this disorder. This report focuses on the heterogeneity of CFS, the necessity for randomized coded studies, the importance of patient selection and sub-classification in clinical trials, and the need to utilize specific end-points for determining efficacy of treatment.
