ABSTRACT
Background/aim/AIM: SARS-CoV-2 disease was announced as a pandemic by The World Health Organization in early 2020. It is still threatening the world population. Here, we aimed to produce hyperimmune sera that contain immunoglobulin G and F(ab')2 fragments sourced from horse antibodies as an urgent response to the pandemic. Materials and methods: SARS-CoV-2 was produced and inactivated with three different methods [formaldehyde (FA), formaldehyde, and binary ethylene amine (FA + BEI), and heat treatment]. After in vitro inactivation control, immunogens were mixed with Freund's adjuvant, thereafter horses (n: 2 for FA, 4 for FA + BEI, 2 for heat inactivation) and New Zealand rabbits (n: 6 for FA, 6 fo r FA + BEI, 6 for heat inactivation) were immunized four times. Neutralizing antibody levels of the sera were measured at the 4th, 6th, and 8th weeks. When the antibodies were detected at the peak level, plasma was collected from horses and hyperimmune sera procured after the purification process. Results: Horses and rabbits produced highly neutralizing antibodies against the SARS-CoV-2 in FA and FA + BEI inactivation groups, foreign proteins were removed effectively after purification. Conclusion: This study presents a profitable practice to develop specific antisera in horses against SARS-CoV-2 for emergency and low-cost response. In further studies, new purification methods can be used to increase the efficiency of the final product.
Subject(s)
Immune Sera/pharmacology , Immunologic Factors/pharmacology , SARS-CoV-2/drug effects , Animals , Horses , Rabbits , COVID-19 Drug TreatmentABSTRACT
Derzsy's disease, which is seen in goslings (Anser anser domestica) and Muscovy ducks (Cairina moschata), progresses to high mortality and causes significant yield losses. The disease agent is goose parvovirus (GPV), which is common in countries with waterfowl production. It has not previously been reported in Turkey. Using qPCR and sequencing of the VP3 protein-encoding gene, GPV is identified as the causative agent of high mortality among geese between 2018 and 2019. The VP3 sequences were also compared with the similar GenBank sequences phylogenetically. All the sequences were found to be most similar (98.90%) with Polish and Taiwan GPV strains. Phylogenetic analysis of the VP3 gene in strains in Turkey and comparison with strains from other countries demonstrated that the Turkish strains are native to the geography and circulated locally. This study detected the presence of the GPV gene for the first time in Turkey and demonstrated the importance of comparing the vaccine strain and wild type.
