Reducing fat deposition by immunisation against adipocyte membranes in poultry. I. Antigen production, antibody development and characterisation

A. S. Zainur, I. Zamri, I. Shukran Baki and D. J. Flint

Abstract

Chicken adipocytes were successfully extracted using a modified protocol to that for rat tissues. The yield of adipocytes from the subcutaneous depo alone was significantly (p <0.05) higher than depos from the subcutaneous plus the abdominal region with an almost similar amount of protein (average at 1.05 ± 0.22 μg/μL). An injection of 250 μ g of these proteins elicited high antibody production in turkeys (dilution of 1:100 000). Characterisation of these antibodies showed that they react specifically with 9 proteins from the adipocyte membranes and also other proteins from the membranes of other organs including the heart, kidney, brain, lung and muscles, but not from those of the liver or the blood. This evidence was further supported by cytotoxicity assays where the antibodies were cytotoxic to the adipocyte membranes (double to that of the normal serum), but not to the red blood cell membranes. The antibodies therefore, have good potential in destroying fat cell membranes without obvious side effects to the chicken.

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