Antibodies: an alternative for antibiotics?

Abstract

In 1967, the success of vaccination programs, combined with the seemingly unstoppable triumph of antibiotics, prompted the US Surgeon General to declare that "it was time to close the books on infectious diseases." We now know that the prediction was overly optimistic and that the fight against infectious diseases is here to stay. During the last 20 yr, infectious diseases have indeed made a staggering comeback for a variety of reasons, including resistance against existing antibiotics. As a consequence, several alternatives to antibiotics are currently being considered or reconsidered. Passive immunization (i.e., the administration of more or less pathogen-specific antibodies to the patient) prior to or after exposure to the disease-causing agent is one of those alternative strategies that was almost entirely abandoned with the introduction of chemical antibiotics but that is now gaining interest again. This review will discuss the early successes and limitations of passive immunization, formerly referred to as "serum therapy," the current use of antibody administration for prophylaxis or treatment of infectious diseases in agriculture, and, finally, recent developments in the field of antibody engineering and "molecular farming" of antibodies in various expression systems. Especially the potential of producing therapeutic antibodies in crops that are routine dietary components of farm animals, such as corn and soy beans, seems to hold promise for future application in the fight against infectious diseases.

Growth inhibition of Staphylococcus aureus by chicken egg yolk antibodies

“…One way is the use of antibodies (Doyle 2001). The ability of antibodies to bind antigen with a high degree of affinity and specificity has led to their ubiquitous use in a variety of resources (Berghman et al 2005;Casadevall 1996). Their use in diagnostic assays and as therapeutics has had a profound impact on improving the health and welfare of both humans and animals (Casadevall and Scharff 1994).…”

Immunoaffinity Chromatography: A Review

“…Avian antibodies are most commonly produced in eggs. Because chickens are inexpensive to maintain and a high yield of antibody can be obtained from the eggs, they represent a relatively inexpensive source of antibodies (Berghman et al, 2005). Eggs are more easily collected than blood samples, and a few eggs per week can provide the same amount of immunoglobulin as repeated bleeding of an immunized rabbit (Chui et al, 2004).…”

Role of plant expression systems in antibody production for passive immunization

“…Moreover, antibiotic replacement is actively sought given the risk of introducing resistant bacterial strains. It is anticipated that passive immunization will regain popularity and might reduce the dependency on the traditionally used antibiotic therapy (Berghman et al, 2005, Oleksiewicz et al, 2012, Zeitlin et al, 2000.…”