title: Nerve growth factor from the venom of the Chinese cobra Naja naja atra: purification and description of non-neuronal activities.
abstract: Nerve growth factor (NGF) was separated from crude Naja naja atra venom by using weak cation-exchange chromatography, followed by reversed-phase liquid chromatography. The yield of the purification was 0.2-0.5% (w/w). The mol. wt was determined to be 13,600 and the protein still induced the typical fibre outgrowth of cultured PC-12 cells in a concentration range of 5-10 ng/ml. Beside this neuronal effect we demonstrated non-neuronal effects of cobra venom NGF, such as induction of plasma extravasation and histamine release from whole blood cells. With human leucocyte preparations, including enriched basophils, there was an increase in C5a-induced histamine release, whereas NGF alone was inactive. Cobra NGF was one-tenth as potent as human recombinant NGF, with a half-maximal stimulation occurring at 10 ng/ml. Cobra NGF and human recombinant NGF showed a modulatory effect on histamine release comparable to the haematopoietic growth factor IL-3. Thus, the non-neuronal effects of cobra NGF may account for immunomodulatory activities during inflammatory events.
authors.affiliation: Pentapharm Ltd, Basel, Switzerland.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kostiza
authors.forename: C A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Dahinden
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rihs
authors.forename: U
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Otten
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Meier
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001491:Basophils / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D001773:Blood Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; D002852:Chromatography, Ion Exchange; D015936:Complement C5a / Q000494:pharmacology; D004546:Elapid Venoms / Q000737:chemistry*; D017815:Elapidae; D006636:Histamine Release / Q000187:drug effects; D006801:Humans; D007962:Leukocytes / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D008970:Molecular Weight; D009414:Nerve Growth Factors / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology; D016716:PC12 Cells; D010974:Platelet Aggregation / Q000187:drug effects; D051381:Rats; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000494:pharmacology
chemical_list: D004546:Elapid Venoms; D009414:Nerve Growth Factors; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D015936:Complement C5a