Avian IgY antibodies, ancestors of mammalian antibodies – production and application

Abstract

As mammals provide passive trans-placental immunity to the fetus, a similar mechanism is recorded in poultry, where immunity comes from egg fluids and is called vitelline immunity. In poultry, while the egg is in the ovary, the serum immunoglobulin Y is transferred in the egg yolk, and during the passage of the egg through oviduct, the immunoglobulins IgM and IgA were transferred in the albumen along with the secretions of the oviduct. Due to the phylogenetic distance between birds and mammals, chicken antibodies have clear advantages over mammalian immunoglobulins. Due to the direct transfer from serum to the follicle, the amount of IgY is huge. From a single yolk can isolate between 100 and 400 mg IgY. In addition to the quantitative advantage of IgY production, there is also the qualitative advantage of low contamination, the production is non-invasive and IgY antibodies can be used in immunodiagnosis, immunoprophylaxy and immunotherapy.