Manufacture and use of fowl egg antibodies

In a process or passively immunising a mammal, the term including humans, against disease, poisoning or another pathological condition against or from which the immunisation is to afford protection or relief, which comprises injecting into the mammal antibodies specific against antigens which give rise to said condition, in a dosage adapted to produce a passive immunity against the condition,

• the improvement wherein said specific antibodies are IgY antibodies produced by:
• (1) actively immunizing a fowl hen by injecting said hen with an immunogen carrying immunogenic determinants specific to elicit such antibodies, wherein the immunogen is selected with such molecular or particle weight, being not less than 30,000 daltons, and carries the determinants in such number and so exposed on the immunogen that an immune response is elicited in the fowl;
• (2) continuing to immunize against the determinants by repeatedly injecting said hen with said immunogen over a period of not less than three weeks and at least to that stage of hyperimmunisation which is indicated by a plateau-like levelling-off and persistance of the concentration of antibodies against the determinants in the serum of the fowl;
• (3) after said period, collecting eggs of the immunised hen which now contain said antibodies in the yolk;
• and
• (4) separating the yolk, separating from the yolk lipid and non-antibody proteinaceous matter and recovering IgY antibodies from the yolk in purified and essentially intact, undamaged form.

In an immuno-assay kit or an ELISA kit, comprising an antibody preparation having a desired specificity for an antigen or hapten, together with ancillary reagents, the improvement wherein the antibody is prepared by:

• (1) actively immunizing a fowl hen by injecting said hen with an immunogen carrying immunogenic determinants specific to elicit such antibodies, wherein the immunogen is selected with such molecular or particle weight, being not less than 30,000 daltons, and carries the determinants in such number and so exposed on the immunogen that an immune response is elicited in the fowl;
• (2) continuing to immunize against the determinants by repeatedly injecting said hen with said immunogen over a period of not less than three weeks and at least to that stage of hyperimmunisation which is indicated by a plateau-like levelling-off and persistance of the concentration of antibodies against the determinants in the serum of the fowl;
• (3) after said period, collecting eggs of the immunised hen which now contain said antibodies in the yolk;
• (4) separating the yolk, separating from the yolk lipid and non-antibody proteinaceous matter and recovering IgY antibodies from the yolk in purified and essentially intact, undamaged form;
• said antibody preparation being useful for pathological or forensic diagnosis or testing, wherein said IgY has been elicited to be specific against a hapten or antigen the presence or quality of which in a pathological or forensic sample is diagnostically or forensically significant.

In a process for producing mammalian antibodies wherein a mammal is actively immunized against an antigen, and antibodies against said antigen are recovered from said mammal, the improvement wherein said antigen is an antibody preparation prepared by:

• (1) actively immunizing a fowl hen by injecting said hen with an immunogen carrying immunogenic determinants specific to elicit such antibodies, wherein the immunogen is selected with such molecular or particle weight, being not less than 30,000 daltons, and carries the determinants in such number and so exposed on the immunogen that an immune response is elicited in the fowl;
• (2) continuing to immunize against the determinants by repeatedly injecting said hen with said immunogen over a period of not less than three weeks and at least to that stage of hyperimmunisation which is indicated by a plateau-like levelling-off and persistance of the concentration of antibodies against the determinants in the serum of the fowl;
• (3) after said period, collecting eggs of the immunised hen which now contain said antibodies in the yolk;
• and
• (4) separating the yolk, separating from the yolk lipid and non-antibody proteinaceous matter and recovering IgY antibodies from the yolk in purified and essentially intact, undamaged form.

In a pathological, forensic or micro-analytical immuno-binding test for a substance, wherein an analyte is contacted with an antibody preparation specific to said substance, and an antigen-antibody interaction is detected,

• the improvement wherein said antibody preparation is an antibody preparation prepared by:
• (1) actively immunizing a fowl hen by injecting said hen with an immunogen carrying immunogenic determinants specific to elicit such antibodies, wherein the immunogen is selected with such molecular or particle weight, being not less than 30,000 daltons, and carries the determinants in such number and so exposed on the immunogen that an immune response is elicited in the fowl;
• (2) continuing to immunize against the determinants by repeatedly injecting said hen with said immunogen over a period of not less than three weeks and at least to that stage of hyperimmunisation which is indicated by a plateau-like levelling-off and persistance of the concentration of antibodies against the determinants in the serum of the fowl;
• (3) after said period, collecting eggs of the immunised hen which now contain said antibodies in the yolk;
• and
• (4) separating the yolk, separating from the yolk lipid and non-antibody proteinaceous matter and recovering IgY antibodies from the yolk in purified and essentially intact, undamaged form.