Scientists produce antibodies from hen eggs. Can be used to treat COVID-19 patients

Researchers at the University of California have made a significant claim of having produced antibodies from hen eggs to treat COVID-19. The antibodies produced in response to the Covid spike protein can be used to treat patients or as a preventive measure, according to the researchers.

The team involved in the process injected two doses of three Coronavirus vaccines into the hens and observed them for three to six weeks. During this period, the antibody levels in the hen's blood were measured routinely.

Later, the antibodies were tested in laboratory conditions for their ability to fight SARS CoV-2 from infecting human cells. And as it turned out, both eggs and sera(plural for serum) from the inoculated hens could recognise the virus. However, the antibodies from sera were more effective in fighting the virus.

Speaking about the development, the researchers stated that birds produce a kind of antibody named IgY, appearing in its sera and eggs, that is akin to that of mammals, including humans. This antibody does not induce any allergy or immune problem in the human body, which makes it suitable for injection.

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It is a cheap process: Researchers

The scientists revealed that the antibody retrieval process from hens is fairly cheap as on average, a single hen lays nearly 300 eggs in a year. Rodrigo Gallardo, Professor in poultry medicine and associated with the study remarked that as a result of affordability, scientists can harvest a lot of IgY.

"In addition to a low cost to produce these antibodies in hens, they can be updated very fast by using updated antigens to hyper immunised hens, allowing protection against current variant strains," said Professor Gallardo.

While the breakthrough is indeed great news, the egg-based antibody technology required to innoculate humans still requires some work. Thus, the researchers, including Professor Gallardo are working with Stanford University and the University of Technology, Sydney to perfect the technology. The team expects to use the antibodies generated in a spray form to be used on people at high risk of contracting the virus.

Different vaccines generating antibodies

Ever since the pandemic sweeped the planet, scientists have been working around the clock to develop vaccines as well as other methods to fight the current, as well as future pandemics. Currently, most countries are either using viral vector or mRNA vaccines. In the former, a spike protein or non-harmful virus/adenovirus DNA is placed in the body which teaches the body to fight the real virus. Similarly, in mRNA vaccines,the genetic material RNA is responsible for teaching the body onhow to make proteins and fight the deadly virus.

AstraZeneca-Oxford developed Covishield and Johnson & Johnson, amongst others use viral vector to develop the vaccines whereas Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna use mRNA. Both vaccines create antibodies which last inside the human body for varying period of times and protect it from the invisible enemy.

Akin to the way a hen egg has been used to develop antibodies, previously, scientists have conducted studies to reveal that antibody-like proteins found in a shark's immune system can also be a counter to Covid.

Read More:Study reveals that proteins taken from shark immune systems can neutralise COVID-19 and its variants

(With inputs from agencies)

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