Use of chicken immunoglobulin Y in general virology

Use of Immunoglobulin Y Antibodies: Biosensor-based Diagnostic Systems and Prophylactic and Therapeutic Drug Delivery Systems for Viral Respiratory Diseases

Respiratory viruses have caused many pandemics from past to present and are among the top global public health problems due to their rate of spread. The recently experienced COVID-19 pandemic has led to an understanding of the importance of rapid diagnostic tests to prevent epidemics and the difficulties of developing new vaccines. On the other hand, the emergence of resistance to existing antiviral drugs during the treatment process poses a major problem for society and global health systems. Therefore, there is a need for new approaches for the diagnosis, prophylaxis, and treatment of existing or new types of respiratory viruses. Immunoglobulin Y antibodies (IgYs) obtained from the yolk of poultry eggs have significant advantages, such as high production volumes, low production costs, and high selectivity, which enable the development of innovative and strategic products. Especially in diagnosing respiratory viruses, antibody-based biosensors in which these antibodies are integrated have the potential to provide superiority in making rapid and accurate diagnosis as a practical diagnostic tool. This review article aims to provide information on using IgY antibodies in diagnostic, prophylactic, and therapeutic applications for respiratory viruses and to provide a perspective for future innovative applications.

IgY Antibodies from Birds: A Review on Affinity and Avidity

IgY antibodies are found in the blood and yolk of eggs. Several studies show the feasibility of utilising IgY for immunotherapy and immunodiagnosis. These antibodies have been studied because they fulfil the current needs for reducing, replacing, and improving the use of animals. Affinity and avidity represent the strength of the antigen-antibody interaction and directly influence antibody action. The aim of this review was to examine the factors that influence the affinity and avidity of IgY antibodies and the methodologies used to determine these variables. In birds, there are few studies on the maturation of antibody affinity and avidity, and these studies suggest that the use of an adjuvant-type of antigen, the animal lineage, the number of immunisations, and the time interfered with the affinity and avidity of IgY antibodies. Regarding the methodologies, most studies use chaotropic agents to determine the avidity index. Studies involving the solution phase and equilibrium titration reactions are also described. These results demonstrate the need for the standardisation of methodologies for the determination of affinity and avidity so that further studies can be performed to optimise the production of high avidity IgY antibodies.

Generation and characterization of avian IgY antibodies for detecting beta-casein A1 in bovine milk

Beta-casein is a primary milk protein that constitutes approximately 30% of the casein in bovine milk, with the two most common types in cattle being A1 and A2. The A2 protein differs from the A1 version due to a mutation in the codon at position 67, resulting in a histidine to proline substitution. However, the bioactive peptide, beta-casomorphine-7 (BCM7), which originates from partial proteolysis of the A1 variant, has been linked to several gastrointestinal disorders in humans. Production of A1 beta casein-free products is increasing demand in the milk market, worldwide. This study generated and characterized a polyclonal IgY antibody that specifically recognizes the A1 beta-casein protein present in cow's milk. A commercially available IgY anti-A1 antibody was used as a positive control, and the sensitivity and specificity of both the commercial and produced anti-A1 antibodies were evaluated. The results showed 100% sensitivity and specificity of 100% of the commercial IgY anti-A1. The in-house produced anti-A1 antibody demonstrated a sensitivity of 95.2% and a specificity of 100%, indicating its potential as a reliable and cost effective tool for detecting A1 beta-casein protein in milk samples.

Effects of Acute Cold Stress after Intermittent Cold Stimulation on Immune-Related Molecules, Intestinal Barrier Genes, and Heat Shock Proteins in Broiler Ileum

Cold stress will have a negative impact on animal welfare and health. In order to explore the effect of intermittent cold stimulation training on the cold resistance of broilers. Immune-related and intestinal barrier genes were detected before and after acute cold stress (ACS), aiming to find an optimal cold stimulation training method. A total of 240 1-day-old Ross broilers (Gallus) were divided into three groups (G1, G2, and G3), each with 5 replicates (16 chickens each replicate). The broilers of G1 were raised at normal temperature, while the broilers of G2 and G3 were treated with cold stimulation at 3 °C lower than the G1 for 3 h and 6 h from 15 to 35 d, respectively, at one-day intervals. At 50 d, the ambient temperature for all groups was reduced to 10 °C for six hours. The results demonstrated that before ACS, IL6, IL17, TLR21, and HSP40 mRNA levels in G3 were apparently down-regulated (p < 0.05), while IL8 and Claudin-1 mRNA levels were significantly up-regulated compared with G1 (p < 0.05). After ACS, IL2, IL6, and IL8 expression levels in G3 were lower than those in G2 (p < 0.05). Compared to G2, Claudin-1, HSP90 mRNA levels, HSP40, and HSP70 protein levels were increased in G3 (p < 0.05). The mRNA levels of TLR5, Mucin2, and Claudin-1 in G2 and IL6, IL8, and TLR4 in G3 were down-regulated after ACS, while IL2, IL6, and IL17 mRNA levels in G2 and HSP40 protein levels in G3 were up-regulated after ACS (p < 0.05). Comprehensive investigation shows that cold stimulation at 3 °C lower than the normal feeding temperature for six hours at one day intervals can enhanced immune function and maintain the stability of intestinal barrier function to lessen the adverse effects on ACS in broilers.

Scientometric analysis and perspective of IgY technology study

Egg yolk immunoglobulin (IgY) is a class of antibody that is produced in birds against pathogens. Therefore, hyperimmunization of birds can produce a specific antibody in the egg against target antigen for a wide range of applications in diagnostic, prophylactic or treatment in human and veterinary medicine which is known today as IgY technology. Until now, the number of articles, patents and clinical studies on IgY technology has increased significantly. Hence, there is a fact that scientometric studies are needed to gain a deeper understanding of the research for the commercialization of IgY technology. Until now, no scientometric research has been directed toward IgY technology. In view of this, we conducted scientometric analysis in the WoS database. A total of 1,029 IgY-related papers were obtained including 981 journal articles and 48 reviews. The visualization of this literature showed an increasing trend in the number of IgY-related publications over the 4 decades, especially after 2008 to 2021. China, the United States, Canada, Japan, and Germany had the largest number of publications, with 220, 148, 91, 76, and 72, respectively. Among all the research institutions, Dalian University of Technology, Alberta University and Northwest Agriculture and Forestry University published the most of the articles, respectively. Among authors, Dr. Xiaoying Zhang had the highest number of publications with 21. The top most cited publications were from Dr. da Silva with 38 citations. Keywords co-occurrence network analysis showed that the correlation between different keywords is large, especially IgY, antibodies and immunoglobulin which is consistent with the rapid increase in the number of publications. Finally, through this data analysis, we hope that our result could help IgY technology to more maturity toward industrialization and commercialization.

Exploring the potential usefulness of IgY for antiviral therapy: A current review

Immunoglobulin yolk (IgY) is therapeutic antibodies presented in yolk eggs of birds, reptiles, and amphibians. These proteins produced by the immune system of the animal, are capable of neutralizing antigenic molecules, including viral antigens, fulfilling a role in the body defense. The specificity of these antibodies and the facility for their production, make these molecules capable of being used as tools for diagnosis and immunotherapy. Regarding this last aspect, it is common knowledge that the field of virology, is racing against time in the development of new drugs and vaccines to try to contain pandemics and local epidemics and, in counterproposal, avian antibodies are neutralizing molecules that can help in the control and spread of disease. These molecules have been explored for years and currently chicken eggs are produced in large quantities from the animal's immunization against a specific pathogen. Thus, on this subject, this review made a survey of these researches and presents a summary of all the successful cases and perspectives in the use of IgYs as tools for viral immunization.

Lateral flow immunoassay for sensitive detection of undeclared chicken meat in meat products

This study presents the development of an immunochromatographic test system aimed at the detection of chicken additives in meat products. It is based on sandwich-format lateral flow immunoassay (LFIA) of immunoglobulins as a biomarker for species identification. The LFIA based on gold nanoparticles as a label for anti-species antibodies was used to determine chicken immunoglobulins and, accordingly, chicken meat in food products. Absence of cross-reactivity with mammalian species tested in the study confirmed high specificity of the determination. The test system showed good sensitivity and rapidity, allowing for the detection of as low as 0.063% (w/w) chicken meat in raw meat mixtures within 20 min. As a result of the testing of raw and cooked meat products, it was shown that the test system can reliably recognize specific immunoglobulins even after heat processing. The proposed assay can be recommended for rapid on-site screening control of the composition and quality of meat products.