New breakthrough: Creating Covid-19 antibodies from chicken eggs

Researchers at the University of California in Davis city, California, USA have successfully produced antibodies for the mutant protein SARS-CoV-2 derived from hen eggs. Accordingly, these antibodies could be used to treat or help prevent Covid-19 infection.

The study was published July 9 in the journal Virus.

Rodrigo Gallardo, professor of avian medicine in the Department of Population and Reproductive Health at the University of California (Davis) School of Veterinary Medicine (Davis), explains that poultry is the ideal species to produce many antibodies quickly and inexpensive.

'The beauty of this system is that you can make a lot of antibodies in the birds,' he said. 'Apart from the low cost of producing these antibodies in hens, they can be updated very quickly by using antigens to enhance the hen's superimmunity, allowing protection against current variant strains.'

Poultry produce IgY antibodies, which are similar to human IgG and do not cause allergic or immunological reactions when injected into humans. IgY is present in the serum of birds and their eggs, and because hens lay about 300 eggs a year, they allow large amounts of IgY to be collected, said Professor Gallardo.

Will the hens help humanity fight the pandemic?

In their trial, the researchers injected hens with two doses of a vaccine that binds to the mutant SARS-CoV-2 protein or the receptor-binding region (the region of the S protein that the virus uses to enter cells). ) and measured antibodies in blood samples collected from hens and from egg yolks three and six weeks after vaccination.

The ability of these antibodies to infect human cells was then sent to the National Center for Biosafety and Infectious Diseases at George Mason University for testing.

The results showed that both the egg and the serum contained antibodies capable of recognizing SARS-CoV-2, but the antibodies from the serum were more effective in destroying the viral particles.

Optimistic about the results of the study, the scientists hope this antibody can be used as a preventive drug for people at high risk of exposure to the new strains of coronavirus.