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Updated: Aug 17, 2026

IgY Technology: Extraction of Chicken Antibodies from Egg Yolk by Polyethylene Glycol (PEG) Precipitation
Published on: May 1, 2011
A simple method for detecting cells producing antibodies of specific immunoglobulin classes in the chicken
Abstract:
A simple plaque method for detecting cells producing antibodies of specific immunoglobulin class in the chicken is described. This method is based upon the inability of chicken antibody to activate guinea-pig complement. IgM- and IgG-specific plaque-forming cells in the spleen of chickens immunized with sheep red blood cells were detected using guinea-pig complement and rabbit anti-chicken-mu- or gamma-chain serum. The specificity of the immunoglobulin class of plaques was confirmed by the abolition of class-specific hemolytic plaques after treatment of the lymphoid cells with rabbit antisera specific for chicken heavy chains in the presence of guinea-pig complement. The method is very simple and rapid, and IgM and IgG specific plaques are reliably detected.
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