Production and Evaluation of Chicken Egg Yolk Immunoglobulin (IgY) against Human and Simian Rotaviruses
Gentil Arthur Bentes,
Natália Maria Lanzarini,
Juliana Rodrigues Guimarães,
Marcos Bryan Heinemann,
Eduardo de Mello Volotão,
Alexandre dos Santos da Silva,
Luiz Guilherme Dias Heneine,
Jaqueline Mendes de Oliveira,
Marcelo Alves Pinto
Affiliations
Gentil Arthur Bentes
Laboratório de Desenvolvimento Tecnológico em Virologia, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Fiocruz, Rio de Janeiro 21040-360, Brazil
Natália Maria Lanzarini
Laboratório de Desenvolvimento Tecnológico em Virologia, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Fiocruz, Rio de Janeiro 21040-360, Brazil
Juliana Rodrigues Guimarães
Laboratório de Desenvolvimento Tecnológico em Virologia, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Fiocruz, Rio de Janeiro 21040-360, Brazil
Marcos Bryan Heinemann
Departamento de Medicina Veterinária Preventiva e Saúde Animal, Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo 05508-270, Brazil
Eduardo de Mello Volotão
Laboratório de Virologia Comparada e Ambiental, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Fiocruz, Rio de Janeiro 21040-360, Brazil
Alexandre dos Santos da Silva
Laboratório de Desenvolvimento Tecnológico em Virologia, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Fiocruz, Rio de Janeiro 21040-360, Brazil
Luiz Guilherme Dias Heneine
Laboratório de Imunologia Aplicada, Fundação Estadual Ezequiel Dias, Belo Horizonte 30510-010, Brazil
Jaqueline Mendes de Oliveira
Laboratório de Desenvolvimento Tecnológico em Virologia, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Fiocruz, Rio de Janeiro 21040-360, Brazil
Marcelo Alves Pinto
Laboratório de Desenvolvimento Tecnológico em Virologia, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Fiocruz, Rio de Janeiro 21040-360, Brazil
Producing specific antibodies in chickens is an attractive approach for diagnosis or therapeutic applications. Besides the high immunoglobulin Y (IgY) yield transferred to the egg yolk and its suitability for large-scale production, such an approach is more bioethical for animal maintenance. The IgY technology offers new possibilities for application in human and veterinary diagnostics and therapeutics, including strategies for treating severe intestinal diseases in children, particularly in emerging countries. Herein, we describe the production and purification of polyclonal antibodies against rotavirus group A (RVA) in immunised hens aiming at its application in prophylaxis and treatment of rotavirus-induced diarrhoea. For this purpose, we inoculated Rhodia laying chickens (Gallus gallus domesticus) with two or three doses of RVA combined with adjuvants or only adjuvants (control group). As the egg-laying period began, the yolk protein purification processes yielded a high concentration of specific IgY, the highest titre resulting from the group of hens that received three doses of the immunogen. The purified IgY blocked the functional activity of RVA in MA-104 cells, thus confirming the neutralisation ability. Therefore, anti-RVA IgY could be a promising candidate for pre- and post-exposure prevention or treatment of rotavirus-induced diarrhoea.