On the presence of antibodies against bovine, equine and poultry immunoglobulins in human IgG preparations, and its implications on antivenom production.

The researchers carried out a study to detect the presence of antibodies against horse, chicken, and bovine immunoglobulins in human immunoglobulin G (IgG) preparations and discussed how the findings may affect antivenom production.

Objective and Methodology

• The primary objective was to investigate and detect anti-horse, anti-chicken, and anti-bovine immunoglobulins in human IgG preparations. These discoveries could potentially impact the production of antivenom.
• The researchers developed specific immunoassays (procedures used to measure the concentration of specific proteins or antibodies in a sample) to accomplish this objective.
• They tested three samples of intravenous human IgG (Inmunoglobulina G Endovenosa al 5%, Quimbiotec CA), each produced from pools of more than 2500 plasma units taken from various donors.
• One of the samples was gathered from exclusively Venezuelan plasma pools (2660 donors), while the other two came from a 50/50 blend of Venezuelan and Canadian plasma pools.

Findings

• The amounts of human IgG antibodies detected against horse IgG were 0.017 mg/ml, against cattle IgG were 0.37 mg/ml, and against chicken IgG were 1.27 mg/ml.
• The anti-chicken IgG antibodies were found in the highest concentration, which could be because chicken is more antigenic (likely to produce an immune response) to humans than bovine meat, and both bovine and poultry meats are widely consumed in both Venezuela and Canada.
• In contrast, horse meat isn’t typically included in the diet, which could be why anti-horse IgG antibodies were found in the least quantity.

Implications

• The results suggest that the diet of the population can impact the presence and concentration of specific antibodies in human IgG preparations.
• Owing to the high dietary component of poultry meat and eggs, when IgY (a class of immunoglobulins found in chicken) therapies are administered, there may be a risk of adverse reactions and less effective antivenoms.
• This indicates that dietary habits should be taken into account when producing antivenoms and other immunotherapies for various populations.