科学家首次发现，接种H5N1疫苗的母鸡所产蛋中的抗体能防止H5N1的流行。他们认为，同样原理也可用于当前H1N1流感的预防。
美国国际疫苗研究所和疾病控制与预防中心的研究人员对鸡的H5N1和H1N1抗体的作用进行了小鼠实验。蛋黄中的鸡抗体主要用于胃肠感染的治疗。
“我们的测试结果表明，由接种过疫苗的母鸡所产蛋中的抗体或称抗病毒免疫球蛋白Y，或许可以作为一种廉价、安全、有效的选择用于控制包括当前流行的H1N1 在内的流感爆发。”研究人员在13日出版的PLoS ONE中写道。
科学家从越南销售的鸡蛋中分离出了H5N1特异性抗体，并检测了这些抗体对抗小鼠H5N1 和H5N2感染的作用情况。当在感染前给小鼠的鼻腔用上这种抗体后，这种来自蛋黄的抗体就有了预防感染的能力。当在感染后给小鼠这种抗体时，同样会减轻感染的严重性，使小鼠能从疾病中得以恢复。鸡的这种抗体可作为鼻喷剂给药。这种被动免疫形式也可用于预防当前流行的H1N1，即通过接种母鸡蛋黄抗体来抗击H1N1 病毒。
“这项研究为利用被动免疫作为辅助手段对流感流行实施早期干预提供了一个合理的基础，特别是对那些实施大规模家禽疫苗接种的国家。”研究人员说。
“这是一个非常令人兴奋的计划，对于缺乏高复杂基础设施的发展中国家来说，这种方法可以实现物质材料的生产。”美国阿拉巴马大学著名微生物学家大卫布里尔斯博士说。
原文出处：
PLoS ONE doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0010152
Prophylactic and Therapeutic Efficacy of Avian Antibodies Against Influenza Virus H5N1 and H1N1 in Mice
Huan H. Nguyen1,6*, Terrence M. Tumpey2, Hae-Jung Park1, Young-Ho Byun3, Linh D. Tran4, Van D. Nguyen4, Paul E. Kilgore1, Cecil Czerkinsky1, Jacqueline M. Katz2, Baik Lin Seong3, Jae Min Song3, Young Bong Kim4, Hoa T. Do5, Tung Nguyen5, Cam V. Nguyen5
1 International Vaccine Institute, Seoul, Korea, 2 Influenza Division, National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America, 3 Department of Biotechnology, College of Engineering, Yonsei University, Seoul, Korea, 4 Department of Animal Biotechnology, College of Animal Bioscience and Technology, Konkuk University, Seoul, Korea, 5 National Centre for Veterinary Diagnostics, Department of Animal Health, Hanoi, Vietnam, 6 Department of Microbiology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama, United States of America
Pandemic influenza poses a serious threat to global health and the world economy. While vaccines are currently under development, passive immunization could offer an alternative strategy to prevent and treat influenza virus infection. Attempts to develop monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) have been made. However, passive immunization based on mAbs may require a cocktail of mAbs with broader specificity in order to provide full protection since mAbs are generally specific for single epitopes. Chicken immunoglobulins (IgY) found in egg yolk have been used mainly for treatment of infectious diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. Because the recent epidemic of highly pathogenic avian influenza virus (HPAIV) strain H5N1 has resulted in serious economic losses to the poultry industry, many countries including Vietnam have introduced mass vaccination of poultry with H5N1 virus vaccines. We reasoned that IgY from consumable eggs available in supermarkets in Vietnam could provide protection against infections with HPAIV H5N1.
We found that H5N1-specific IgY that are prepared from eggs available in supermarkets in Vietnam by a rapid and simple water dilution method cross-protect against infections with HPAIV H5N1 and related H5N2 strains in mice. When administered intranasally before or after lethal infection, the IgY prevent the infection or significantly reduce viral replication resulting in complete recovery from the disease, respectively. We further generated H1N1 virus-specific IgY by immunization of hens with inactivated H1N1 A/PR/8/34 as a model virus for the current pandemic H1N1/09 and found that such H1N1-specific IgY protect mice from lethal influenza virus infection.
The findings suggest that readily available H5N1-specific IgY offer an enormous source of valuable biological material to combat a potential H5N1 pandemic. In addition, our study provides a proof-of-concept for the approach using virus-specific IgY as affordable, safe, and effective alternative for the control of influenza outbreaks, including the current H1N1 pandemic.
