Long-term primary culture of secretory cells of Bothrops jararaca venom gland for venom production in vitro.

This protocol details the optimal conditions to establish a long-term primary culture of secretory cells from the venom gland of the Bothrops jararaca snake. Furthermore, these conditions allow the production and secretion of venom into the culture medium. Snake venom is a rich source of active molecules and has been used for bioprospection studies. However, obtaining enough venom from snakes is a major obstacle. Secretory cells of venom glands are capable of producing active toxins. Therefore, a culture of secretory cells is a good in vitro system to acquire the venom of snakes without capturing the animal from the wild. The protocol described here provides a rapid (approximately 4 h) and reproducible means of producing sufficient amounts of snake venom for biological investigations.