Development of recombinant chicken IgY from single chain fragment of variable region for diagnosis of BSE

We generated two recombinant chicken IgYs, designated Ab3-15 and Ab4-19, against mammalian prion protein (PrP) from the single chain fragment of variable region (scFv) antibodies. These two antibodies recognized PrPSc from bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in cattle and were more sensitive than the corresponding scFv antibodies. These antibodies also recognized PrPSc from other scrapie-infected mammals. These results indicate that Ab3-15 and Ab4-19 are useful for diagnosis of BSE as well as other prion diseases.