Isolation and characterization of nerve growth factor from Vipera berus (common viper) venom

Abstract 1. 1. Nerve growth factor from Vipera berus berus venom was purified by gel filtration on Sephadex G-100 (superfine), ion-exchange-chromatography on DEAE-Sephadex A-50 and chromatofocusing on PBE 118. 2. 2. The Vipera berus berus venom NGF consists of multiple molecular forms with pIs in the interval 9.1–9.7. All isoforms have identical mol. wts ≈35,000 ± 3000 (in gel filtration) and 17,000 ± 2000 , 15,000 ± 2000 (by SDS electrophoresis with β-mercaptoethanol). 3. 3. V. berus berus venom NGF reacted with monoclonal antibodies against Vipera lebetina NGF and caused differentiation of pheochromocytoma PC12 cells.