|
|
Chicken Antibody |
 |
Custom Antisera |
|
 |
| |
|
Why do people use chickens as host animals for antibody production?
|
- Chickens are a good choice for production of antibodies to mammalian antigens.
- Chickens often produce antibodies when other animals give poor or no response.
- The egg yolks typically contain the same concentration of antibodies as compared to the antibodies in the chicken sera.
- Chicken antibodies are thought to give better results because there is less cross reactivity of antibodies with mammalian proteins.
- Chicken antibodies do not bind with mammalian rheumatoid factors or Fc-receptors nor with proteins A or G, therefore the chicken's antibodies are unlikely to produce false positive reactions in certain immunochemical assays.
- Chickens lay eggs regularly, providing a continual source of antibody.
|
| [ top ]
[Main FAQ list] |
Do people interchange the terms Chicken IgY and Chicken IgG?
|
|
Yes. The terms are commonly interchanged in the scientific community. The correct term is Chicken IgY. The serum antibody found in birds is IgY vs. IgG in mammals. Chicken IgY is the functional equivalent to mammalian IgG. The IgY is passed from the mother chicken to the embryo via the egg yolk and therefore the egg yolk has a high concentration of chicken IgY. The "Y" in IgY comes from "yolk" and is the main antibody in the egg yolk. |
| [ top ]
[Main FAQ list] |
Do you offer the antisera production in chickens?
|
|
Yes. We follow the same immunization/bleed protocol as rabbits. The customer receives sera from the chicken and also egg yolks. The amount of immunogen used is about half that used for rabbits. We begin by collecting eggs right after the first bleed. If all goes well, the customer should get about 3 eggs a week. The yolks are removed and placed in the freezer until they are ready to ship. 3 yolks=~50ml, with a potential yield of 50mg of IgY (or IgG) per egg. Sometimes the chickens stop laying due to immunizations, seasonal changes, molts, etc. It is typical to receive ~6 eggs per chicken, with the potential of more if the chicken cooperates. |
| [ top ]
[Main FAQ list] |
What is the average concentration of IgY in the yolk?
|
|
The IgY concentration in the yolk is comparable to the IgY concentration in the chicken serum. The IgY concentration in the yolk is approximately 6-13mg/ml. A single egg yolk may yield about 50-100mg of IgY. You can typically expect ~2% recovery of specific antibody after affinity purification. 1 egg yolk can yield ~ 1-2mg of specific antibody |
| [ top ]
[Main FAQ list] |
What continuation services are available for chicken projects?
|
|
For a one month continuation, we follow the same procedure as we follow with rabbits. The continuation includes 2 immunizations, 2 bleeds and daily housing fees for the chickens. All eggs produced during this month are collected and supplied to the customer. An exsanguination can be performed on the chickens, however the sera yield is only ~5-10ml per chicken. |
| [ top ]
[Main FAQ list] |
How do I purify my antibodies in the egg yolks?
|
|
Because of the high lipid content of the eggs, the antibody must be purified before use. Sigma-Genosys can do the purification for you, or we recommend the Eggcellent Chicken IgY Purification kit sold by Pierce. The Pierce catalog number is #44918 and technical questions regarding the kit use can be answered by calling 1-800-874-3723. |
| [ top ]
[Main FAQ list] |
Are there any storage issues when working with eggs?
|
|
Short term storage of egg yolks should be at 4° degrees and long term storage should be at -20° degrees. We highly recommend that you purify the antibodies from the yolks for long term storage. Purified chicken antibodies can be stored frozen and will be stable for years. If storing the yolks in the refrigerator, we recommend adding some PBS azide to the yolks to keep them from drying out and to prevent bacteria from growing. |
| [ top ]
[Main FAQ list] |
|
|
|
