Hyperimmune Egg Background
Please note that the information on the following pages is educational
material intended for use by health professionals only.
Abstract:
"Hyperimmune" or "immune" egg results (test) from the repeated injection of specially selected hens with a multivalent vaccine containing inactivated pathogenic organisms. To provide neutralization and gastroprotection from orally introduced infectious agents, inactive organisms utilized in such vaccines are frequently of those which cause disease, typically of human enteric origin. This procedure results in the production of polyclonal immunoglobulins of the IgY class (specific to avians) directed against the stimulating organisms.
In addition to production of such immunoglobulins, "immune" eggs contain potent immunoregulatory factors. These bioactive molecules, reminiscent of cytokines, act as intercellular "communicator" signals responsible for regulation of a variety of immune, hormonal, and metabolic pathways. The wide influence of these bioactive molecules is reflected in their ability to systemically regulate the physical states of the host, including immune, gastrointestinal, joint, connective, and cardiovascular systems.
Introduction:
During lactation, the nursing mother passively transfers immune components such as immunoglobulins (humoral) and bioactive molecules (cellular) to her offspring 1, 2, 81. In avians, passive transfer of immunity occurs through the vehicle of the egg. Such immune products provide natural resistance to infection and malignancy while the offsprings' own immune system develops.
There is a body of published 3-14 and unpublished
work 15-16, 37-40
reporting that multiple inoculations of chickens or dairy cows over a period
of time (i.e., hyperimmunization) with inactivated multivalent bacterial vaccines,
results in the production of "immune" eggs or milk. These types of
products have polyclonal and specific immunoglobulins against the specific vaccinating
antigens. Along with production of immunoglobulins, effector cells produce smaller
molecular weight products with potent immunoregulatory functions. These bioactive
molecules are immunological factors that modulate autoimmune responses, exhibit
pro- and anti-inflammatory activities and affect virtually all bodily functions.
Oral Administration
of Antibody:
Oral consumption of "immune" eggs or milk containing specific immunoglobulins
(or fractions derived there from) protects against the specific organism(s)
with which the hen or the cow was stimulated 7,
18-20, 23-26.
Orally administrated immunoglobulins survive passage through the gastrointestinal
tract 27 and after excretion, still retain a
great deal of their antigen binding ability 8,
28. In fact they have been suggested as protection
against traveler's diarrhea 79 since there are
no side effects and resistance of bacteria to antibodies is unlikely.
Eggs As A Natural Source
of Immunoregulatory Factors:
Just as immune protection is transferred in utero in mammals or passively by
a lactating mother via colostrum, hens passively transfer protection to their
young by secreting immunoglobulin and other immune factors into its egg for
use by the hatching chick. The transfer of chicken immunoglobulins from the
hen's serum to the yolk and from the yolk to the chick is analogous to cross-placental
transfer of IgG from the mammalian mother to its offspring 29,
30. [IgY (i.e., of yolk) is an immunoglobulin
class specific to avians and analagous in function to that of mammalian immunoglobulins.]
Both eggs and milk (including those in infant formula and breast milk) contain naturally occurring antibodies 31-34 and there are reports of immunomodulatory factors in milk as well 31, 35. However, ml for ml immunoglobulin levels in eggs are significantly higher than levels found in serum or milk 20 36. This should not be surprising since mammals have several weeks or months during which they may passively transfer immunoglobulin and immune factors, while the hen has a single opportunity (the egg) to transfer all necessary survival components to its offspring. All those elements that the chick needs to survive, must be in one concentrated package.
Since immunoglobulins and immune factors 37-40
occur naturally in eggs, and egg products are a common source of protein in
human diets, "immune" eggs are a safe, convenient and economical source
of specific immunoglobulins 20, 23,
41, and immunoregulatory factors 37-40
The immune egg therefore appears to serve as a concentrated source of immune
products 59, 67,68.
"Hyperimmune" Eggs Obtained
by Repeated Inoculation of Hens:
Most commercially available chickens are immunized at birth to protect them
from avian diseases. The only difference between such supermarket eggs and "immune"
eggs, is that the latter are from chickens that have received additional proprietary
vaccinations with other inactivated pathogens known to be the etiologic agents
of human infection. A partial list of the organisms used in some vaccines are:
Shigella dysenteriae, Staphylococcus epidermidis and simulans, Escherichia coli,
Salmonella enteritidis and typhimurium, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumoniae,
Haemophilis influenzae, and at least 6 species of Streptococcus.
Only the chicken (not the egg) is exposed to inactivated pathogens. Immunoglobulins
and other immune factors are passively transferred to the egg from the serum
for use by the chick. No vaccine components are introduced into the eggs themselves.
Only the eggs are consumed, not the hens.
Production of Powdered
"Hyperimmune" Egg:
After appropriate times following vaccination, eggs are collected from the specially
designated chicken flocks, washed, broken and the yolk and egg white are dried
to a fine proteineous powder. Various processes have been developed to minimize
any heat damage to egg antibodies and immunoregulatory factors during the spray-drying
procedure. This is a procedure used daily in the food processing industries.
When utilized for human consumption, "immune" eggs are processed under
good manufacturing practices (GMP) in USDA-inspected and monitored facilities.
After processing, powders may be combined with vitamins and minerals and/or
other ingredients to produce high nutritive value formulas.
Comparison of Supermarket
Eggs with "Hyperimmune" Eggs:
The total immunoglobulin content of eggs from hyperimmunized hens is identical
to the total level of immunoglobulins found in conventional table eggs. However,
the quantities of immunoglobulins to selected antigens are different in the
two varieties of eggs. Additionally both the table egg and the "immune"
egg contain immunoregulatory factors, but eggs from "hyperimmunized chickens
may contain many fold the concentration of individual factors as compared to
regular eggs" (unpublished observations).
Biologically Active Compounds
in "Immune" Eggs and Milk:
- Passively Transferred Antibodies:
With few exceptions 63 ,71,
oral consumption of specific antibodies are reported to protect humans 1-3,
5, 6, 9,
20, 21, 26,
28, 42-44, 69,
70 and animals. 7,
17, 19, 23,
24, 36, 45-56,
66, 77. In addition,
in vitro, avian specific antibodies have been found to inhibit processes associated
with bacterial growth, adhesion to intestinal cells, and toxin production. 65
- Immunological factors:
Modulation of autoimmune and inflammatory responses occurs through the mediation
of effector cells and their bioactive mediators. Pro- and anti-inflammatory
processes are associated with specific classes of effector cells and specific
families of effector molecules 60.
The category of effector cells (and their secreted immune factors) found during
the initiation of inflammation are independent of the area of the body in which
inflammation occurs. However, effector cells involved in a pro-inflammatory
response will be similar to one another regardless of the area in which the
response is occurring (e.g., joints, gasrointestinal, Islets of Langerhans,
etc.) Similarly, during resolution of inflammatory processes, the effector cell
population and their mediators will differ from those found in pro-inflammatory
responses, but be similar in type to those found at other sites where resolution
is occurring.
The cellular interactions in atherogenesis are fundamentally no different from
those in chronic inflammatory… diseases such as cirrhosis, rheumatoid arthritis,
glomerulosclerosis, pulmonary fibrosis, and chronic pancreatitis... 57
. The pathways leading to specific immunological effects and to resolution of
such responses are similar irrespective of whether the mechanism of action is
in the joint, gastrointestinal system, nasal passages, cardiovascular organs,
etc. The basic mechanisms remain the same 57,
58, 60. The
final course of the immunological response is determined ultimately by whether
an immunoregulatory compound will act as an activator, or an inhibitor. Thus
immunomodulatory factors in immune eggs participate in pathways throughout the
body.