Production of IgY anti-mouse IgG antibodies from chicken eggs.

IgY technology offers several advantages over antibody production in mammals. In this study, we applied IgY technology for the production of anti-mouse IgG polyclonal antibodies and developed a FITC conjugate reagent. Two hens were immunized 3 times with mouse IgG, one via the pectoralis and the other via the calf muscles. Specific antibodies could be detected in the sera two weeks after the immunization, and maximum levels were reached at week 10. The hen which was immunized via the pectoralis muscle produced a much higher antibody response than the hen immunized via the calf muscle. In egg yolk, specific antibodies appeared 2 weeks after the first immunization, reached a plateau after week 11 and remained high until week 20. IgY were extracted from egg yolk by sodium sulfate precipitation. Approximately 40 mg of IgY could be extracted from a single egg. The extracted IgY was labeled with FITC. The so-produced antibody-FITC conjugate reacted to all mouse IgG isotypes and could be used to determine leukocyte sub-populations in blood samples by flow cytometry.