Editorial: IgY technology: theory, technical aspects, applications, and innovations

ZHANG, XIAOYING; ISAH, MURTALA BINDAWA; DANG, MEI; MORGAN, PATRICIA M.; SIENCZYK, MARCIN; BRADLEY, DAVID; CHACANA, PABLO

Frontiers in Immunology

Frontiers Media SA

Año: 2023 vol. 14

Immunoglobulin Y (IgY) from eggs has gained increasing recognition within thescientific community and biotechnology industry. The potential of IgY technology forinnovation continues to attract researchers and investors. The first comprehensivemonograph on important IgY laboratory protocols, edited by Schade and others, waspublished in 2001 (1). In the concluding parts of the book, Professor Schade laments on thelack of popularity of hen eggs as antibody sources, which he attributed to the lack ofexperience and information in using IgY antibodies. Since then, the first comprehensivemonograph on IgY technology, edited by Professors Zhang, Vieira-Pires, Morgan, &Schade (2), was published recently and IgY-related publications (Figures 1A, B) tripled (3),with each publication further highlighting a potential aspect in which IgY proves to be anexcellent antibody source. Similarly, patent registrations and the development ofcommercial IgY products have increased, collectively expanding the horizons of IgYtechnology. IgY technology demonstrates superiority over conventional approaches infive frontiers. These frontiers encompass enhanced animal welfare and ethicalconsiderations, abundant IgY content in eggs, the phylogenetic divergence betweenavian and mammalian immune responses enabling IgY production against conservedmammalian antigens, the molecular organization of IgY genes in birds facilitating rapidgene cloning, and finally, the molecular properties of the IgY molecule itself, including itsnon-binding affinity to mammalian Fc receptors, mammalian rheumatoid factor, andmammalian complement proteins