Preparation and characterization of immunoglobulin yolk against the venom of Naja naja atra

Chinese Cobra (Naja naja atra) bite is one of the leading causes of snake-bite mortality in China. The traditional anti-cobra venom serum therapy was found to be expensive and with high frequency of side effects. Therefore attempts were made to generate a high titer immunoglobulin from egg yolk (IgY) of crude cobra-venom immunized Leghorn hens, and to standardize an effective method for producing avian antivenom in relatively pure form. The IgY was isolated first by water dilution method to remove the lipid, then extracted by ammonium sulfate precipitation, and purified through anion exchange chromatogram. The different purities of IgY from different isolating stages were submitted to enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and SDS-PAGE to determine their titers. Immunoblotting showed that the purified IgY (ion exchange chromatography fraction, IECF) recognized several antigenic fractions of cobra venom, and presented with the character of polyclonal antibody. IECF on SDS-PAGE under reducing conditions migrated as a 65 kDa heavy chain and a 35 kDa light chain, respectively. The LD50 of the N. naja atra venom was 0.62 mg/kg body weight in mice. Four times the LD50 dose of venom was selected as challenge dose, and the ED50 of IgY was 3.04 mg IECF/mg venom. The results indicate that the activity of anti-snake venom IgY could be obviously elevated by ion exchange chromatography, thus possessing therapeutic significance for snakebite envenomation.     

抗生殖器疱疹病毒卵黄免疫球蛋白(IgY)的研究

检测了鸡卵黄中抗生殖器疱疹病毒(HSV-2)抗体的产量、纯度、来源及稳定性。采用生殖器疱疹病毒(HSV-2)作为抗原免疫广州黄村鸡。通过改良水稀释法提取卵黄中的IgY。双紫外光波长测定抗体含量,SDS-PAGE电泳检测抗体纯度。Western blot免疫印迹法测定该抗体来源。ELISA检测IgY对温度、酸碱度的稳定性。结果,蛋黄液中抗体质量浓度13.6g.L-1,抗体纯度达96.2%。免疫印迹证明IgY与鸡血清中的IgG具有相同的分子量和抗原性。IgY具有良好的热稳定性,对酸碱具有一定的耐受力。WD水稀释法能得到高产量、高纯度的特异性IgY,而且有良好的生物学活性。     

Alkylation of myotoxic phospholipases A2 in Bothrops moojeni venom: a promising approach to an enhanced antivenom production

Bothrops moojeni crude venom (MjCV) and its two major toxins, namely myotoxin I (MjTX-I) and myotoxin II (MjTX-II) were alkylated by p-bromophenacyl bromide (BPB). After alkylation the i.p. LD(50) (mice) of MjCV and MjTX-I/II increased from 6.0 to 15.7mg/kg and from 8.0 to 45.0mg/kg, respectively. In addition, doses of 5x LD(50) of alkylated MjTX-I did not cause a single death in mice and no myonecrosis was detected for the alkylated toxins, although both proteins still induced edema. Antibodies to native and modified crude venom or myotoxins cross-reacted with 12 purified class II myotoxic phospholipases A(2) found in snake venoms of the genus Bothrops. Myotoxic PLA(2)s from class I and class III were not recognized by the above antibodies. These results suggest that the overall antigenic structure is conserved among class II myotoxic PLA(2)s, despite differences in their amino acid sequences. Anti-MjTX-I-BPB and anti-MjTX-II-BPB rabbit serum, obtained against the modified myotoxins, were apparently more efficient than those obtained against the native myotoxins. In neutralization experiments, pre-incubation of crude venom or isolated myotoxins with antibodies raised against the native or modified toxins inhibited their PLA(2) and myotoxic activities. Therefore, alkylation of His48 by BPB strongly reduces the local tissue damage induced by B. moojeni venom or isolated myotoxins while retaining antigenicity, which suggests a promising procedure for an enhanced antiophidian serum production for practical purposes.     

Hemorrhagic principles in the venom of Bitis arietans,a viperous snake. I. Purification and characterization

Two hemorrhagic principles (Bitis arietans hemorrhagin a and b: abbreviated as BHRa and BHRb) were purified from the venom of the viperous snake Bitis arietans (puff adder) by gel filtration, ion-exchange and absorption chromatography. A 10-fold purification was achieved for BHRa and 7-fold for BHRb with an overall yield of 6.4% of hemorrhagic activity. The hemorrhagins were homogeneous according to disc- and SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and immunodiffusion. BHRa and BHRb consist of 623 and 685 amino-acid residues and their apparent molecular weights were 68 000 and 75 000, respectively. They were also immunologically distinct. The purified hemorrhagins express proteolytic activity with heat-denatured casein and hide powder azure. The proteolytic activity with heat-denatured casein was almost the same as that of the crude venom, but that with hide powder azure was less than one-tenth of that of the crude venom. The purified hemorrhagins were free of arginine esterase and phospholipase A₂ activities and they are acid labile hemorrhagic toxins. Their hemorrhagic activity was inhibited by EDTA, cysteine and by polyvalent anti-snake serum, but not by phenylmethanesulfonyl fluoride or soybean trypsin inhibitor.     

抗中华眼镜蛇毒鸡卵黄抗体的制备及其效价测定

目的探索免疫鸡制备高效价抗眼镜蛇毒抗体的新方法。方法用中华眼镜蛇原毒作抗原免疫22周龄的莱航母鸡,水溶法粗提抗体,DEAE Sepharos FF柱纯化,切向流超滤膜脱盐及浓缩,免疫电泳及双向免疫扩散法进行鉴定及效价测定,采用BCATMProte in Assay K it测定蛋白含量。结果鸡卵黄经水溶法的粗提物与中华眼镜蛇毒即有较明显沉淀反应,其效价随着纯度的提高而增强。将马源性抗血清的蛋白质含量调至与浓缩的IgY相同(2mg/m l),经双向免疫扩散及免疫电泳鉴定,该抗体不但对中华眼镜蛇毒有特异性结合,与孟加拉眼镜蛇毒亦有较强的交叉免疫活性,其效价较马抗眼镜蛇毒血清高4倍以上。结论用中华眼镜蛇原毒制备的IgY抗体,其效价较马抗血清有显著提高,并与孟加拉眼镜蛇毒有高度交叉免疫。本实验为抗眼镜蛇IgY的应用及其它抗蛇毒IgY的制备奠定了基础。     

Antisnake venom activity of ethanolic seed extract of Strychnos nux vomica Linn

The whole seed extract of S. nux vomica (in low doses) effectively neutralized Daboia russelii venom induced lethal, haemorrhage, defibrinogenating, PLA2 enzyme activity and Naja kaouthia venom induced lethal, cardiotoxic, neurotoxic, PLA2 enzyme activity. The seed extract potentiated polyvalent snake venom antiserum action in experimental animals. An active compound (SNVNF) was isolated and purified by thin layer chromatography and silica gel column chromatography, which effectively antagonised D. russelii venom induced lethal, haemorrhagic, defibrinogenating, oedema, PLA2 enzyme activity and N. kaouthia induced lethal, cardiotoxic, neurotoxic, PLA, enzyme activity. Polyvalent snake venom antiserum action was significantly potentiated by the active compound. Spectral studies revealed it to be a small, straight chain compound containing methyl and amide radicals. Detailed structure elucidation of the compound (SNVNF) is warranted before its clinical trials as a snake venom antagonist.     

Avian IgY antibodies and their recombinant equivalents in research, diagnostics and therapy

The generation and use of avian antibodies is of increasing interest in a wide variety of applications within the life sciences. Due to their phylogenetic distance, mechanisms of immune diversification and the way in which they deposit IgY immunoglobulin in the egg yolk, chickens provide a number of advantages compared to mammals as hosts for immunization. These advantages include: the one-step purification of antibodies from egg yolk in large amounts facilitates having a virtually continuous supply; the epitope spectrum of avian antibodies potentially grants access to novel specificities; the broad absence of cross-reactivity with mammalian epitopes avoids assay interference and improves the performance of immunological techniques. The polyclonal nature of IgY antibodies has limited their use since avian hybridoma techniques are not well established. Recombinant IgY, however, can be generated from mammalian monoclonal antibodies which makes it possible to further exploit the advantageous properties of the IgY scaffold. Moreover, cloning and selecting the immune repertoire from avian organisms is highly efficient, yielding antigen-specific antibody fragments. The recombinant approach is well suited to circumvent any limitations of polyclonal antibodies. This review presents comprehensive information on the generation, purification, modification and applications of polyclonal and monoclonal IgY antibodies.     

Avidity of sera-neutralizing snake venom

Avidity of antivenom sera used for the treatment of snake bites was studied. Sera against the venom of Vipera libetina obtained from producers immunized with crude venoms were more avid than analogous sera obtained to anavenoms. In studying the avidity of polyvalent serum neutralizing the Vipera libetina, echis and cobra venoms showed the serum obtained in immunization with the mixture of crude venoms to be highly avid to all the venoms composing the antigen; besides, it bound the venoms of Vipera libetina and echis more rapidly and more stably than the corresponding monovalent sera.     

Acidic phospholipases A2 from the venom of common sea snake enhydrina schistosa

Two acidic phospholipases A have been purified from the venom of common sea snake (Enhydrina schistosa) by chromatography on Sephadex G-75 gel media, Bio-Rex 70 ion-exchanger followed by repeated Chromatography on DEAE-Sephadex A-25 ion-exchanger. The two preparations were shown to be homogeneous by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and ion-exchange chromatography. The enzymes were shown to be specific for the ‘two’ position of egg yolk lecithin. The molecular weight of both enzymes determined by gel filtration chromatography and SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis was approx. 14000. Both enzymes were non-lethal. Amino acid composition data indicated high contents of aspartic acid, glycine and alamine in both enzymes.     

Antibodies against Venom of the Snake Deinagkistrodon acutus

Snake venom protein from Deinagkistrodon acutus (DA protein), one of the major venomous species in Taiwan, causes hemorrhagic symptoms that can lead to death. Although horse-derived antivenin is a major treatment, relatively strong and detrimental side effects are seen occasionally. In our study, yolk immunoglobulin (IgY) was purified from eggs, and DA protein was recognized using Western blotting and an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), similar to therapeutic horse antivenin. The ELISA also indicated that specific IgY antibodies were elicited after the fifth booster, plateaued, and lasted for at least 3 months. To generate monoclonal single-chain variable fragment (scFv) antibodies, we used phage display technology to construct two libraries with short or long linkers, containing 6.24 × 10⁸ and 5.28 × 10⁸ transformants, respectively. After four rounds of biopanning, the eluted phage titer increased, and the phage-based ELISA indicated that the specific clones were enriched. Nucleotide sequences of 30 individual clones expressing scFv were analyzed and classified into four groups that all specifically recognized the DA venom protein. Furthermore, based on mass spectrometry, the scFv-bound protein was deduced to be snake venom metalloproteinase proteins. Most importantly, both IgY and mixed scFv inhibited the lethal effect in mice injected with the minimum lethal dosage of the DA protein. We suggest that together, these antibodies could be applied to the development of diagnostic agents or treatments for snakebite envenomation in the future.     

Identification, isolation and purification of neurotoxic phospholipases A2 from Vipera russelli venom using polyclonal antibodies.

All the neurotoxic phospholipases A2 present in whole Vipera russelli venom were precipitated selectively from other non-neurotoxic phospholipases A2 and non-phospholipases A2 fractions using antibodies (anti PL-V Ig) raised against one of the purified neurotoxic phospholipases A2 (VRV PL-V). These neurotoxins were identified and isolated in their homogeneous form by chromatographic and electrophoretic methods. The present report of selective isolation and purification of all the neurotoxic phospholipases A2 of V. russelli venom is first of its kind.     

The purification of IgY from chicken egg yolk by preparative electrophoresis

Chicken IgY has been purified from egg yolk by preparative electrophoresis on the Gradiflow, a system which has been employed for the purification of a wide range of proteins with high recovery and biological activity. Protein purification on the Gradiflow utilises electrophoresis with selected combinations of porous membranes and buffers. The purification of IgY was achieved by initial PEG lipid precipitation, then a single step Gradiflow run by a strategy based on the relatively high pI range of IgY compared to other egg yolk proteins. The IgY yields obtained from the delipidised supernatant are consistently greater than 80% by immunoassay. The purity of the IgY fraction compared favourably with IgY prepared using three commercial products.     

三种鲟科鱼类和两种鲑科鱼类卵黄免疫球蛋白性质的比较

从施氏鲟(Acipenser schrencki)、小体鲟(Acipenser ruthenus)、西伯利亚鲟(Acipenser baeri)、哲罗鲑(Hucho taimen)和金鳟(Oncorhynchus mykiss)五种鱼类卵黄中分离、纯化Ig,并对其分子结构进行了初步研究。结果表明:五种鱼类卵中Ig的分子量分别为施氏鲟524kD、小体鲟468kD、西伯利亚鲟475kD、哲罗鲑为490kD,金鳟498kD,其Ig重链的相对分子量相同,约为97kD。轻链的相对分子量各不相同,施氏鲟为27kD,小体鲟28.5kD,西伯利亚鲟30kD,哲罗鲑28.5kD和金鳟16kD。其中西伯利亚鲟、施氏鲟和小体鲟Ig等电点约为5.85,哲罗鲑和金鳟的Ig等电点约为6.55,其蛋白质结构上具有一定的相似性,且均为糖蛋白     

Immunoglobulin specificity of TG19318: a novel synthetic ligand for antibody affinity purification

A synthetic ligand [TG19318], able to mimic protein A in the recognition of the immunoglobulin Fc portion, has been previously identified in our laboratory through the synthesis and screening of multimeric combinatorial peptide libraries. In this study we have fully characterized its applicability in affinity chromatography for the downstream processing of antibodies, examining the specificity and selectivity for polyclonal and monoclonal immunoglobulins derived from different sources. Ligand specificity was broader than protein A, since IgG deriving from human, cow, horse, pig, mouse, rat, rabbit, goat and sheep sera, IgY obtained from egg yolk, and IgM, IgA and IgE were efficiently purified on TG19318 affinity columns. Adsorbed antibodies were conveniently eluted by a buffer change to 0.1 M acetic acid or 0.1 M sodium bicarbonate pH 9, with full retention of immunological properties. Monoclonal antibodies deriving from cell culture supernatants or ascitic fluids were also conveniently purified on TG19318 affinity columns, even from very diluted samples. The affinity constant for the TG19318-IgG interaction was 0.3 microM, as determined by optical biosensor measurements. Under optimized conditions, antibody purity after affinity purification was close to 95%, as determined by densitometric scanning of SDS-PAGE gels of purified fractions, and maximal column capacity reached 25 mg Ig/ml support. In vivo toxicity studies in mice indicated a ligand oral toxicity greater than 2000 mg kg-1 while intravenous toxicity was close to 150 mg kg-1. Validation of antibody affinity purification processes for therapeutic use, a very complex, laborious and costly procedure, is going to be simplified by the use of TG19318, which could reduce considerably the presence of biological contaminants in the purified preparation, a very recurrent problem when using recombinant or extractive biomolecules as affinity ligands.     

抗MRSA-PBP2a鸡卵黄抗体的制备及乳胶凝集检测法的建立

制备抗耐甲氧西林金黄色葡萄球菌青霉素结合蛋白2a( MRSA- PBP2a)抗原的鸡卵黄免疫球蛋白(IgY),建立检测MRSA的乳胶凝集方法.采用体外诱导的方法制备PBP2a蛋白,胸部肌肉多点注射方式免疫6只海蓝蛋鸡,水稀释法提取IgY,BCA法测定蛋白含量,Western blotting进行特异性分析,用提取的IgY抗体致敏聚苯乙烯乳胶,建立检测PBP2a的乳胶凝集方法.成功诱导并制备获得纯化的PBP2a蛋白,首次免疫后1月每枚鸡蛋提纯后可获得约48 mg IgY抗体,Western blotting结果显示IgY抗体能有效识别纯化的PBP2a蛋白;成功建立检测PBP2a的乳胶凝集法,敏感性达1 mg/L.抗MRSA- PBP2a鸡卵黄抗体具有较高的敏感性和特异性,基于其建立的乳胶凝集检测方法具有较好的灵敏性.     

Purification of antibody Fab and F(ab')2 fragments using Gradiflow technology

The Gradiflow, a preparative electrophoresis instrument designed to separate molecules on the basis of their size and charge, was used to purify antibody Fab and F(ab')2 fragments. The method described is charge based, utilizing the difference in the pI between the antibody Fab/F(ab')2 fragments and antibody Fc fragments that occur after enzyme digestion of whole antibody molecules. This method of purification was successful across a range of monoclonal and polyclonal antibodies. In particular, F(ab')2 fragments were purified from a number of mouse monoclonal antibodies (both IgG1 and IgG2a isotypes) and Fab fragments were purified from egg yolk IgY polyclonal antibodies. This is a rapid purification method which has advantages over alternative methods that usually comprise ion exchange and gel filtration chromatography. This method may be applicable to most antibody digest preparations.     

鹭科和鸬鹚科卵黄抗体的纯化

目的 纯化鹭科具有代表性的夜鹭及鸬鹚科具有代表性的鸬鹚的卵黄抗体IgY。方法 采用了水稀释法和硫酸铵分级沉淀法粗提IgY,再过HiTrap IgY Purification HP柱子进一步纯化。结果 经两步纯化,得到了纯化的鸬鹚和夜鹭的卵黄抗体IgY,经SDS-PAGE检测为电泳纯,夜鹭和鸬鹚的卵黄抗体的相对分子质量约为180×10^3。结论 证实了鸬鹚和夜鹭的卵黄抗体IgY的存在及其特性,为这两种鸟类的卵黄抗体IgY纯化,二级抗体制备提供了参考。     

Egg Yolk antibody and its application

A hen transfers her serum immumnoglobulin G to the egg yolk (IgY) and gives im|munity to her offspring. Therefore, the hen egg can be an effective supplier of a large amount of antigen specific antibody that accumulates in the egg yolk. Antigen specific antibody has been widely used for immunological analysis in the field of diagnosis as well as pure scientific research. The production and separation technology of IgY is demonstrated in the present study.     

Human alpha-fetoprotein /AFP/ I. Isolation of homogenous AFP from cord blood serum

Summary The AFP from human cord blood was isolated by means of affinity chromatography with the use of antibodies as ligands and by gel filtration. The preliminary purification was achieved by affinity chromatography on CNBr-Sepharose 4B coupled with anti AFP-antibody. Further purification was obtained by the use of immunoadsorbent with anti-human serum protein antibodies. Final purification was achieved by gel filtration on Sephadex G-200. Homogeneity of the purified AFP was demonstrated by means of gel filtration, polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, isoelectric focusing and immunoelectrophoresis.Supported by Polish National Cancer Programm within the project PR 6 0227/02/.     

竹叶青属毒蛇的毒素研究进展

蛇毒含多种生物活性成分,其中多数为酶类和活性肽类。随着蛇毒毒理学、药物学、生物化学和分子生物学的发展,蛇毒的许多组分已得到分离纯化和序列测定,并广泛应用于理论研究和临床应用。竹叶青蛇属是中国常见的毒蛇,近年来对其应用研究的报道颇多,就竹叶青属毒蛇的种类与分布,及其蛇毒组分的分离纯化、理化性质、分子克隆表达等方面的研究资料进行了概括和综述。