Birds produce a form of antibody, IgY, which is found in eggs. Researchers at UC Davis have shown that from eggs can be produced amounts of IgY antibodies specific for the ear protein of the COVID-19 virus by immunizing chickens. Credit: Pixabay / CC0 Public Domain
Researchers at the University of California, Davis, have been able to produce antibodies against the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein in chicken eggs. Antibodies collected from eggs can be used to treat COVID-19 or as a preventative measure for people exposed to the disease. The work was published July 9 in the journal Virus.
“The beauty of the system is that you can produce a lot of antibodies in birds,” said Rodrigo Gallardo, professor of poultry medicine, Department of Population Health and Reproduction at UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine. “In addition to a low cost to produce these antibodies in chickens, they can be upgraded very quickly by using up-to-date antigens to hyperimmune the hens, allowing protection against current variant strains.”
Birds produce a type of antibody called IgY, comparable to IgG in humans and other mammals. IgY does not cause allergies or trigger immune reactions when injected into humans. IgY appears in both bird serum and eggs. Since a hen lays about 300 eggs a year, you can get a lot of IgY, Gallardo said.
Gallardo and colleagues immunized hens with two doses of three different vaccines based on the SARS-CoV-2 ear protein or receptor-binding domain. They measured antibodies in blood samples from chickens and egg yolks three to six weeks after the last immunization.
Purified antibodies were tested to determine their ability to block coronavirus from infecting human cells at the National Center for Biodefense and Infectious Diseases at George Mason University in Virginia.
Both eggs and immunized chicken serum contained antibodies that recognized SARS-CoV-2. Serum antibodies were more effective at neutralizing the virus, probably because there are more antibodies in the blood in general, Gallardo said.
Gallardo is working with colleagues Daria Mochly-Rosen of Stanford University and Michael Wallach of Sydney University of Technology to develop egg-based antibody technology. The team hopes to deploy these antibodies in a preventative treatment such as a spray, which could be used by people at high risk for coronavirus exposure.
Common coronavirus infections do not generate effective antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 More information: Emily J. Aston et al, Hyperimmunized Chickens Produce Neutralizing Antibodies against SARS-CoV-2, Virus (2022). DOI: 10.3390 / v14071510
Citation: Producing COVID-19 antibodies in hen eggs (2022, July 13) retrieved July 14, 2022 from
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