抗体を食べる : 卵黄抗体(IgY)と感染症の予防

Abstract

The IgG found in blood serum of hen is known to transfer to yolk of egg laid by the hen to give acquired immunity to the offspring. The antibody in egg yolk has been referred to as IgY. At present, a tremendous number of hens are being systematically immunized with several antigens (vaccination) to protect the hens from infectious diseases, and managed to lay eggs as scheduled for commercial transaction. Hen eggs, therefore, are now considered to be a potential source of a large-scale production of antibody (IgY). An important application of IgY is for passive immunization therapy in which the specific binding ability to the antigens (pathogens, venoms, etc.) serves to neutralize the biological activities of those antigens. Passive immunization seems to be one of the most valuable application of antibody in which pathogen-specific IgY is administered to individuals to result in prevention from infectious diseases. In this article, passive immunization tests using IgY in order to prevent rotavirus diarrhea, dental caries, and fish disease are introduced. The antigen-specific IgY has now been able to prepare in an industrial scale from eggs laid by the hens immunized with selected antigens. Therefore, eating antibodies (IgY) will be practical for prevention of infectious diseases.