IgY antibodies for the immunoprophylaxis and therapy of respiratory infections

Abbas, Aymn Talat; El-Kafrawy, Sherif Aly; Sohrab, Sayed Sartaj; Azhar, Esam Ibraheem Ahmed

Because IgY does not react with the human complement system or Fc receptors, the risk of further inflammation is minimal. 24 IgY is thought to work by binding to the bacteria or viruses, leading to their elimination through the gut and prevention of bacterial replication or virus spread. 25 In some cases, passive immunization using IgY antibodies has rapid and local onset of action, and can be given to patients with active infection. It can also be used in immature or impaired immune response, such as infants and immuno-compromised adults. 26, 27 An additional advantage of IgYs is their high content of sialic acid, 28 which is reported to increase the half-life of the drug 29 compared with those with lower sialic acid content. This finding suggests that IgY-based therapy could have a longer circulating half-life, which could increase its efficacy against infections.