Peptide Epitope-Based Avian IgY Antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 Spike: A Cost Effective Approach for Viral Detection and Neutralization

Pramod, G. N. and Prasan, Havlad and Nalina, Murthy and Abdul, Majid and Jessie, Thomas and Ghalib Enayathullah, M. and Yogesh, Sardana and Sreeram, P. K. and Muthukumar, S. P. and Tanaji, Kudre and Pananghat, Gayathri and Kiran Kumar, Bokara and Gopinath Sundaram, M. and Lakshmikanth, Mariyanna and Poornima, Priyadarshini (2025) Peptide Epitope-Based Avian IgY Antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 Spike: A Cost Effective Approach for Viral Detection and Neutralization. International Journal of Peptide Research and Therapeutics, 31 (80).

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Abstract

Background Peptides offer a rapid, scalable, cost-effective platform for developing targeted diagnostic and therapeutic tools due to their ease of synthesis, structural versatility, and high specificity. Although the acutephase of the COVID-19 pandemic has eased, the emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants continues to be public health concern. In this context, peptide epitope- based antibodies targeting the viral spike protein remain central to virus detection and neutralization, providing a promising alternative to traditional protein-based approaches. Methods and results This study describes a structure-guided, peptide epitope-based strategy to generate polyclonal avian IgY antibodies targeting the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein. Five immunogenic peptides (PEP1–PEP5), selected based on sur- face accessibility and antigenicity, were synthesized and used to immunize chickens. The resulting antibodies were extracted from egg yolks using a scalable polyethylene glycol precipitation method. Among the generated antibodies, those raised against PEP2, PEP5, and their combination exhibited high titers (up to 1: 64,000) and strong reactivity against recombinant spike protein under both native and denaturing conditions. In sandwich ELISA using pre-validated patient swab samples, these IgY antibodies showed specific reactivity with COVID-19 positive samples. Importantly, virus neutralization assays demonstrated that co-incubation with the IgY antibodies resulted in over 90% reduction in SARS-CoV-2 infection, high- lighting their therapeutic efficacy. Conclusion This study demonstrates a rapid, sustainable, cost-effective approach for generating IgY antibodies using pep- tide epitopes instead of full-length or recombinant spike domains. The resulting antibodies show high diagnostic specificity and strong viral neutralization, highlighting their dual potential and value as tools for SARS-CoV-2 and other evolving viral threats.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Chicken IgY · SARS-CoV-2 · Spike protein · Neutralization antibodies · Poly ethylene glycol
Subjects:	500 Natural Sciences and Mathematics > 04 Chemistry and Allied Sciences > 25 Peptide Chemistry
Divisions:	Dept. of Biochemistry Meat Fish and Poultry Technology Molecular Nutrition
Depositing User:	Somashekar K S
Date Deposited:	07 Oct 2025 06:09
Last Modified:	07 Oct 2025 06:09
URI:	http://ir.cftri.res.in/id/eprint/19887

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