Prevention and Treatment of Influenza with Hyperimmune Bovine Colostrum Antibody

Abstract

BackgroundDespite the availability of specific vaccines and antiviral drugs, influenza continues to impose a heavy toll on human health worldwide. Passive transfer of specific antibody (Ab) may provide a useful means of preventing or treating disease in unvaccinated individuals or those failing to adequately seroconvert, especially now that resistance to antiviral drugs is on the rise. However, preparation of appropriate Ab in large scale, quickly and on a yearly basis is viewed as a significant logistical hurdle for this approach to control seasonal influenza.Methodology/Principal FindingsIn this study, bovine colostrum, which contains approximately 500 g of IgG per milking per animal, has been investigated as a source of polyclonal antibody for delivery to the respiratory tract. IgG and F(ab')2 were purified from the hyperimmune colostrum of cows vaccinated with influenza A/Puerto Rico/8/34 (PR8) vaccine and were shown to have high hemagglutination-inhibitory and virus-neutralizing titers. In BALB/c mice, a single administration of either IgG or F(ab')2 could prevent the establishment of infection with a sublethal dose of PR8 virus when given as early as 7 days prior to exposure to virus. Pre-treated mice also survived an otherwise lethal dose of virus, the IgG- but not the F(ab')2-treated mice showing no weight loss. Successful reduction of established infection with this highly virulent virus was also observed with a single treatment 24 hr after virus exposure.Conclusions/SignificanceThese data suggest that a novel and commercially-scalable technique for preparing Ab from hyperimmune bovine colostrum could allow production of a valuable substitute for antiviral drugs to control influenza with the advantage of eliminating the need for daily administration.

A Mouse Model for the Study of Contact-Dependent Transmission of Influenza A Virus and the Factors That Govern Transmissibility

“…Male BALB/c mice, 6 to 8 weeks old, were housed in specific-pathogen-free conditions at 21°C, 31% humidity. For each transmission experiment, two mice were infected to become the index mice, by either upper respiratory tract (URT) or total respiratory tract (TRT) routes, using direct delivery of the virus to the nares with a micropipette as described previously (33). After infection, index mice were housed separately for 6 h, unless otherwise stated, to prevent contamination of the contacts with the initial viral inoculum.…”

“…Tissues were homogenized at 10,000 rpm for 30 s, and supernatants were clarified by centrifugation and stored at Ϫ80°C. Viral titers in secretions and tissues of the respiratory tract were determined by plaque assay on Madin-Darby canine kidney (MDCK) cells as previously described (33). Following 3 days of incubation, plaques were counted macroscopically to determine the PFU per sample, which was calculated from the average PFU obtained in three different dilutions of sample, each performed in duplicate.…”

Bovine colostrum: an emerging nutraceutical

“…BC-derived fractions rich in IgG have been successful in alleviating the symptoms of influenza in pretreated BALB/c mice [61]. These fractions were collected from cows immunized with A/Puerto Rico/8/34 (PR8) influenza virus, the IgG purified and delivered intranasally to mice.…”

Broad Neutralizing Antibodies to HIV Env and Other Complex Viral Antigens from Vaccinated Cows

“…It was demonstrated that the infection-induced inflammation that occurs in the digestive tract of HIV-infected individuals can be reversed with bovine colostrum [37]. The bovine colostrum could possibly improve the tissue repair, mucosal integrity and also have direct antimicrobial actions [38].…”