Effects of temperature and storage conditions on the electrophoretic, toxic and enzymatic stability of venom components.

Rattlesnake venoms are complex biological products containing potentially autolytic components, and they provide a useful tool for the study of long-term maintenance of enzymes in a competent state, both in vivo and in vitro. To evaluate the stability of venom components, 15 aliquots of freshly extracted venom (from Crotalus molossus molossus) were subjected to 15 different temperature and storage conditions for 1 week and then lyophilized; conditions varied from storage at -80 degrees C (optimal preservation of activities) to dilution (1:24) and storage at 37 degrees C (maximal degradation potential). Effects of different storage conditions were evaluated using SDS-PAGE, metalloprotease zymogram gels, a cricket LD50 assay and enzyme assays (metalloprotease, serine proteases, phosphodiesterase, L-amino acid oxidase and phospholipase A2). Venom samples were remarkably refractive to widely varying conditions; enzyme activities of some samples were variable, particularly L-amino acid oxidase, and one sample treatment showed higher toxicity, but electrophoretic results indicated very little effect on venom proteins. This study suggests that most venom activities should remain stable even if stored or collected under potentially adverse conditions, and freezing samples is not necessarily advantageous. Proteins in the crude venom are not as labile as has been previously thought, and endogenous mechanisms present in the venoms likely inhibit autolysis during long-term storage that occurs in vivo in the gland.