Development of modified eggshell membrane formulations with enhanced immunomodulatory and anti-inflammatory activities to expand the non-food market for eggs.

在加拿大等发达国家，约30%的蛋壳被分流到破碎机加工厂，用于食品加工和生物制药行业的蛋清和蛋黄的工业生产。然而，大量的废弃蛋壳/蛋壳膜的产生使鸡蛋生产行业寻求高价值的应用。蛋壳膜约为蛋重的1%，由双层蛋白质纤维网络组成，主要由蛋白质(~90%)、脂肪(~3%)和碳水化合物(~2%)组成。ESM纤维含有多种结构蛋白，包括胶原蛋白和富含半胱氨酸的蛋壳膜蛋白(CREMPs)，此外还含有大量的生物活性蛋白。ESM被认为是一种功能相当的细胞外基质(ECM)；然而，它被广泛的桥连、异桥联和二硫键交联而大大稳定，这对用标准蛋白质组学方法鉴定其蛋白质组分提出了挑战，并屏蔽了它们的活性。尽管有这些困难，我们还是鉴定了ESM的&gt；500蛋白质成分，它们具有许多预期的生物学功能，如抗菌、免疫调节和抗炎特性。然而，生产高活性ESM材料配方的具体加工方法及其作用机理尚未令人满意地实现。在此次联盟赠款申请中，我们与加拿大鸡蛋农场主和安大略省鸡蛋农场主(LRIC)以及加拿大一家主要鸡蛋生产商(Burnbrae Farm)合作，开发新的加工方法，以生产具有增强免疫调节和抗炎活性的ESM。这一实验计划将导致改进的ESM配方的开发，为加拿大家禽业打开新的高价值市场。

In developed countries such as Canada, about 30% of shell eggs are diverted to breaker processing plants for industrial production of egg white and yolk for the food processing and biopharmaceutical industries. However, large quantities of waste eggshell / eggshell membrane are generated for which the egg producing industry seeks high-value applications. The eggshell membrane (ESM) is approximately 1% of egg weight and consists of a bilayered proteinaceous fibrous meshwork, which is composed mainly of proteins (~90%), lipids (~3%), and carbohydrates (~2%). ESM fibers contain various structural proteins, including collagens and cysteine-rich eggshell membrane proteins (CREMPs), in addition to a significant content of bioactive proteins. ESM is considered a functionally equivalent extracellular matrix (ECM); however, it is greatly stabilized by extensive desmosine, isodesmosine, and disulfide cross-linkages, which challenge the identification of its protein constituents by standard proteomic approaches, and shield their activities. In spite of these difficulties, we have identified >500 protein constituents of ESM with numerous predicted biological functions such as antimicrobial, immunomodulatory and anti-inflammatory properties. However, specific processing approaches to yield highly active formulations of ESM material, and their mechanism of action, have not yet been satisfactorily achieved. In this Alliance grant application, we have partnered with Egg Farmers of Canada and Egg Farmers of Ontario (LRIC), as well as a major Canadian egg producer (Burnbrae Farms), to develop new processing methods to produce ESM with enhanced immunomodulatory and anti-inflammatory activities. This experimental program will lead to the development of modified ESM formulations to open new high-value markets for the Canadian poultry industry.