Chicken antibodies help fight against COVID-19

Antibodies produced in chicken eggs could lead to a better diagnostic test for COVID-19.

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(Andrea Gantz)
(Andrea Gantz)

Antibodies produced in chicken eggs could lead to a better diagnostic test for COVID-19.

“We are using the immune system of the chicken to produce antibodies against the COVID-19 virus,” explained Bruce Rathgeber, Associate Poultry Professor at the Atlantic Poultry Research Centre on the Dalhousie Agricultural Campus, and AffinityImmuno president Jonathan Zuccolo.

“Our research is focused on determining if proteins from the surface spikes of the virus injected into chickens will produce antibodies that are useful for developing tests to screen for the presence of the virus.”

Why chickens are a good research model

Chickens are a popular model for research involving the protein antigens of humans and other mammals. One chicken can produce an enormous amount of antibody, proteins that help fight off and prevent future infections, compared to rabbits or other animal models. They can also produce antibodies more cheaply and faster than other methods.

“In addition, chicken antibodies are harvested from the egg yolks, so we don’t have to collect blood like you would if you were using a mammal such as a rabbit or mouse,” Rathgeber and Zuccolo said.

“Typically, one egg can yield about half a milligram of specific antibody. For perspective, this is enough antibody to make about 1,000 virus tests. Harvesting from chicken eggs results in a very high purity antibody that can be used in a wide range of applications.”

Combatting COVID-19

Researchers at the Atlantic Poultry Research Centre on the Dalhousie Agricultural Campus will send the egg yolks of chickens injected with a synthetic COVID-19 spike protein created in China to AffinityImmuno Inc., a Canadian provider of R&D support services for biological drug discovery. Spike proteins are a key component in helping the virus stick to human cells.

The injection is safe to the birds because it is only a virus protein, not the complete virus. In addition, research has shown that chickens are not susceptible to COVID-19.

Scientists at AffinityImmuno will then extract antibodies from the egg yolks and evaluate their use in a simple-to-use diagnostic test for the virus. The test could also be used to identify biomarkers that predict the chance of reinfection.

View our continuing coverage of the coronavirus/COVID-19 pandemic.

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