Chicken egg yolk antibody (IgY) as diagnostics and therapeutics in parasitic infections – A review

• Published in: International journal of biological macromolecules Vol. 136; pp. 755 - 763
• Main Authors: Thirumalai, Diraviyam, Visaga Ambi, Senthil, Vieira-Pires, Ricardo S., Xiaoying, Zhang, Sekaran, Saravanan, Krishnan, Umamaheswari
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Netherlands Elsevier B.V 01-09-2019
• Subjects: Animals; Chicken IgY; Chickens; Egg Yolk; Egg yolk antibodies; Immunoassay; Immunoglobulins - immunology; Immunoglobulins - therapeutic use; Immunotherapy; Parasites; Parasitic Diseases - diagnosis; Parasitic Diseases - immunology; Parasitic Diseases - therapy; Chicken IgY; Immunoassay; Parasites; Egg yolk antibodies; Immunotherapy
• ISSN: 0141-8130; 1879-0003
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2019.06.118

Early diagnosis and treatment of parasitic diseases are indispensable to combat parasites mediated morbidity and mortality in humans and animals. Mammalian sourced antibodies are being successfully used in immunotherapy and immunoassays. However, their increased conservation amongst mammals, involves them in unnecessary interaction and immune mediated pathologies, obstructing their applications in certain approaches in immunoassays. Further, the high production cost and difficulty to achieve high and stable antibody titer hampers their utility for therapeutic purposes. In recent years, chicken egg yolk immunoglobulin, termed as immunoglobulin Y (IgY) has attracted noticeable consideration since it poses greater advantages than mammalian IgG including high yield, low cost and convenience. IgY has unique properties which are being exploited in different aspects for its applications in research, diagnosis and therapy. This review gives an overview of the research outcomes pertaining to chicken IgY as diagnostics and therapeutics in parasitology.
•Polyclonal IgY against parasitic antigens are suitable for immunotherapeutic applications.•Further investigations with well-designed animal experiments are indispensable.•IgY based immunoassays could be a promising alternative to mammalian antibodies.•Preparation of monoclonal IgY against parasitic antigens would be an ideal focus.