[How do the antibodies get into the chicken egg? ]
In this article the term IgG is used instead of IgY because it is the immunoglobulin in the chicken which relates physiologically strongest to the mammalian IgG. The IgG is transported into the ripening oocytes from the circulation of the hen by receptors. Additionally traces of IgA are being transferred into the oocytes. IgM traces in the yolk-sack are most likely synthesized there. Also, an infiltration of IgA and IgM into the egg-white may occur during the passage through the oviduct. The antibodies are being moved between five compartments: egg-white- and yolk-sack, amnion, allantois and blood circulation. During incubation these compartments change their volume dynamically wherefore exact balances are difficult to calculate.
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Uli
U
Institut für Physiologie, Physiologische Chemie und Tierernährung der Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, D-München.