Abstract
The Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) was identified in 2012 and causes severe and often fatal acute respiratory illness in humans. No approved prophylactic and therapeutic interventions are currently available. In this study, we have developed egg yolk antibodies (immunoglobulin Y (IgY)) specific for MERS-CoV spike protein (S1) in order to evaluate their neutralizing efficiency against MERS-CoV infection. S1-specific immunoglobulins were produced by injecting chickens with purified recombinant S1 protein of MERS-CoV at a high titer (5.7 mg/mL egg yolk) at week 7 post immunization. Western blotting and immune-dot blot assays demonstrated that the IgY antibody specifically bound to the MERS-CoV S1 protein. Anti-S1 antibodies were also able to recognize MERS-COV inside cells, as demonstrated by an immunofluorescence assay. Plaque reduction and microneutralization assays showed the neutralization of MERS-COV in Vero cells by anti-S1 IgY antibodies and non-significantly reduced virus titers in the lungs of MERS-CoV-infected mice during early infection, with a nonsignificant decrease in weight loss. However, a statistically significant (p = 0.0196) quantitative reduction in viral antigen expression and marked reduction in inflammation were observed in lung tissue. Collectively, our data suggest that the anti-MERS-CoV S1 IgY could serve as a potential candidate for the passive treatment of MERS-CoV infection.
Highlights
Respiratory infections involve a group of diseases affecting millions of people around the world, imposing a higher risk for elderly individuals and children [1]
IgYpreparation preparation dissociated dissociated into protein bands, a major bandband at at
These results suggest that anti-S1 MERS-CoV IgY antibodies exhibited a potent ability to neutralize
Summary
Respiratory infections involve a group of diseases affecting millions of people around the world, imposing a higher risk for elderly individuals and children [1]. MERS-CoV is an evolving zoonotic virus causing extremely deadly respiratory disease in human beings [2]. The virus can be transmitted between dromedary camels, from camels to humans, and from humans to humans [7,8,9,10] High risk groups, such as camel workers and healthcare workers, are at higher risk of encountering the infection unless precautionary measures are in place [11,12,13,14]. MERS-CoV continues to infect humans and is listed by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) as a priority pathogen with the potential to cause a pandemic [15]. It is crucial to implement strategies which will help in containing the spread of the infection [17]
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