Vero Cell Culture as a Model for ‎Evaluating the Effects ‎of Macrovipera lebetina Venom

Among Iranian venomous snakes, the most important groups causing envenomation are Naja Naja Oxiana, Echis,Vipera albicornuta, Vipera  latifii Mertens, pseudocerastes  peersicus and Vipera lebetina. Many researchers believe natural snake venom toxins are containing several pharmacologically active components  that could be of  potential therapeutic  value. In the  past, studies have  shown that  some neurotoxic fractions of snake  venom interfere with some infectious and non-infectious diseases such as cancer. we purified snake venom of V. lebetina by fast protein liquid chromatography (FPLC) using Sephacryl S-200 hr column. The fractions collected and evaluated by SDS-PAGE analysis.  The cytotoxicity effect of crude venom and fractions on Vero cells were demonstrated using 3-(4,5- dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide and adhesion assay. The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of Macrovipera  lebetina (one of the native snakes of many parts of iran) , in order to create an appropriate animal cell culture model to evaluate the effects of protein complexes on diseases such as viral infections.