Research Information System
1st International Congress on Biotech Studies, Ankara, Turkey, 9 - 11 November 2022, pp.68, (Summary Text)
Snake venom is a molecular cocktail that contains different bioactive molecules. It is mainly composed of proteins and peptides, which are responsible for its key activities. Viper venoms contain proteins and peptides interfering with the cardiovascular system and blood coagulation. Some of these molecules were used for the development of drugs and diagnostic products and some of them are under investigation. Ottoman Viper, Montivipera xanthina, is one of the medicinally important venomous snake species distributed mainly in the western and southwestern parts of Türkiye. Its understudied venom is promising for the discovery of new bioactive proteins and peptides. Angiogenesis is a key process that is crucial for a healthy physiology. However, it is also associated with diseases such as cancer which makes this mechanism a target for therapies. This study aimed to investigate the in vitro effects of M. xanthina crude venom and its fractions on endothelial tube formation, as a model to assess angiogenesis. Crude venom was fractioned by gel filtration chromatography and the protein contents of each fraction were determined. In vitro tubulogenesis assay was carried out using human umbilical cord endothelial cells (HUVEC). The half maximal Inhibitory concentrations (IC50) of each fraction and crude venom for their cytotoxic effects were determined by an initial study using MTT assay. One-tenth of the IC50 values were used as an exposure concentration for the tubulogenesis assay. As a result, crude venom showed antiangiogenic effects in general while some of the fractions promoted tube formation compared to the negative control, and some of them inhibited tubulogenesis. These results showed that M. xanthina venom contains active proteins with both proangiogenic and antiangiogenic activities, which might be valuable for the development of new molecules affecting angiogenesis.Acknowledgements: This research is supported by Hacettepe University Scientific Research Projects Coordination (Grant No: FBA-2020-18841).