Vet World Vol.17 September-2024 Article - 26
Research Article
Veterinary World, 17(9): 2177-2184
https://doi.org/10.14202/vetworld.2024.2177-2184
Comparison of immunoglobulin Y antibody production in new and spent laying hens
2. Department of Veterinary Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Kasetsart University, Bangkok, Thailand.
3. Department of Companion Animal Clinical Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Kasetsart University, Bangkok, Thailand.
Background and Aim: Immunoglobulin (Ig)Y, a specific type of Ig found in chicken eggs, has potential use in the diagnosis of human and animal diseases. This study assessed the feasibility of using spent laying hens to produce IgY. In addition, the effects of antigen injection on egg and antibody production in new and spent laying hens were compared.
Materials and Methods: Hens were intramuscularly injected with three booster shots of antigens. IgY was extracted from egg yolks using polyethylene glycol 6000 precipitation followed by dialysis.
Results: Spent laying hens (83 weeks) consistently showed lower egg production than new laying hens (27 weeks) throughout the study. Post-immunization, a further decline in egg production was observed in spent laying hens, and egg production stopped after the second antigen injection. Eggs from spent laying hens were less dense than eggs from new hens. Despite lower IgY levels in eggs from spent laying hens, the heavy-to-light chain ratio remained consistent in both groups. Notably, IgY from spent and new laying hens demonstrated effective hemagglutination against cat erythrocytes in the A blood group.
Conclusion: This study demonstrated the potential of using spent laying hens to produce IgY, with significant implications for future research, immunotherapy, and diagnostic applications, despite the observed reduction in egg production compared with new laying hens.
Keywords: antibody production, diagnosis, immunoglobulin Y antibody, immunological assays, spent laying hens.
How to cite this article: Metheenukul P, Surachetpong W, Prasertsincharoen N, Arreesrisom P, and Thengchaisri N (2024) Comparison of immunoglobulin Y antibody production in new and spent laying hens, Veterinary World, 17(9): 2177-2184.
Received: 2024-05-26 Accepted: 2024-08-30 Published online: 2024-09-28
Corresponding author: E-mail:
DOI: 10.14202/vetworld.2024.2177-2184
Copyright: Metheenukul, et al. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/ by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http:// creativecommons.org/ publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.
