Purification and quantification of heavy‐chain antibodies from the milk of bactrian camels

Abstract

Camel milk has a unique composition with naturally occurring heavy-chain antibodies (HCAbs), which exert rehabilitating potencies in infection and immunity. To characterize HCAb in camel milk, immunoglobulin G (IgG) was isolated from the milk of Camelus bactrianus by a combination of affinity chromatography and sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis to purify and size-fractionate protein A and protein G, which were further identified by Western blotting, and were quantified by bicinchoninic acid (BCA) and ELISA. The results indicated that IgG fraction contains molecules of 50 kDa heavy chains and 36 kDa light chains. The HCAbs (IgG and IgG fractions) devoid of light chains, contain heavy chains of 45 kDa and 43 kDa, respectively, the amounts of which were significantly higher than that of the IgG in the milk of bactrian camels. Above all, we revealed the considerable amounts of HCAbs in the milk of bactrian camels, and developed a novel method for their purification and quantification. These findings provide the basis for developing potential effects of camel milk and its interface with the dairy industry, as well as future investigations of HCAb and its roles in human health and diseases.

Isolation of Heavy Chain Antibodies from Camelus Bactrianus Serum

“…The Camelidae family of species have acquired various unique attributes, such as surviving long periods without any food and water, tolerating a high dietary salt intake without developing hypertension, and tolerating high blood glucose levels without developing diabetes to adapt to the harsh climate conditions of deserts or semi deserts [1][2][3]. Bactrian camels are distributed mainly in Central Asian countries, including Mongolia, China, Kazakhstan, northeastern Afghanistan, Russia, Crimea and Uzbekistan [4].…”

Simple Protocol for immunoglobulin G Purification from Camel “Camelus dromedarius” Serum

“…recently, Yao et al [15] reported the purification of heavychain antibodies from bactrian camels' milk using a similar procedure. However, this method involved the use of buffers of low pH, which may be deleterious to antibody activity, and it could not be applied on a large scale.…”