Expression of bovine rotavirus VP8 and preparation of IgY antibodies against recombinant VP8

Exploring the potential usefulness of IgY for antiviral therapy: A current review

Immunoglobulin yolk (IgY) is therapeutic antibodies presented in yolk eggs of birds, reptiles, and amphibians. These proteins produced by the immune system of the animal, are capable of neutralizing antigenic molecules, including viral antigens, fulfilling a role in the body defense. The specificity of these antibodies and the facility for their production, make these molecules capable of being used as tools for diagnosis and immunotherapy. Regarding this last aspect, it is common knowledge that the field of virology, is racing against time in the development of new drugs and vaccines to try to contain pandemics and local epidemics and, in counterproposal, avian antibodies are neutralizing molecules that can help in the control and spread of disease. These molecules have been explored for years and currently chicken eggs are produced in large quantities from the animal's immunization against a specific pathogen. Thus, on this subject, this review made a survey of these researches and presents a summary of all the successful cases and perspectives in the use of IgYs as tools for viral immunization.

Immunoglobulin Y for Potential Diagnostic and Therapeutic Applications in Infectious Diseases

Antiviral, antibacterial, and antiparasitic drugs and vaccines are essential to maintaining the health of humans and animals. Yet, their production can be slow and expensive, and efficacy lost once pathogens mount resistance. Chicken immunoglobulin Y (IgY) is a highly conserved homolog of human immunoglobulin G (IgG) that has shown benefits and a favorable safety profile, primarily in animal models of human infectious diseases. IgY is fast-acting, easy to produce, and low cost. IgY antibodies can readily be generated in large quantities with minimal environmental harm or infrastructure investment by using egg-laying hens. We summarize a variety of IgY uses, focusing on their potential for the detection, prevention, and treatment of human and animal infections.

Screening for Components/Compounds with Anti-Rotavirus Activity: Detection of Interaction Between Viral Spike Proteins and Glycans

Rotaviruses are the major etiologic agents of acute gastroenteritis. Viral attachment to the cell surface is crucial to initiate infection. The VP8^∗ domain, the trypsinized cleavage fragment of the outermost spike protein VP4 of rotavirus, has a galectin-like structure required for binding to the cell surface. We used the evanescent-field fluorescence-assisted assay to understand the complex mechanism underlying the virus-glycan/glycoprotein interaction. Besides, we have described virus infection assays, neutralization assay, and pretreatment assay, using cell culture. These approaches using rotavirus particles will provide novel information that has been difficult to obtain from glycan microarray using recombinant VP8^∗.