Isolation and characterization of egg yolk antibodies IgY from hens immunized with different influenza virus strains.

A comparison of two precipitation methods of IgY from normal hen eggs was made. For method I the precipitation agent is represented by PEG 6000, and for method II by organic solvents. The comparative study of some parameters (protein concentration, ovalbumin content, presence of non-specific inhibitors, PAA-gel electrophoresis) shows that method I is more efficient and more convenient than method II. Using this method, we isolated and characterized IgY preparations from hens immunized with circulating influenza virus strains: A/Singapore/6/86 (H1N1), A/Shanghai/11/87 (H3N2) B/Beijing/1/87 and B/Yamagata/16/88 These viral IgY antibody preparations are homogeneous, lacking anti-host cell antibodies and non-specific inhibitors. Their NI titres and HI titres are higher than those found in the sera of immunized birds.