Fangs very much. Scientists use stem cells to make snake venom — without the snake
This technology could completely change the way antivenin is made, saving thousands of lives
Scientists in the Netherlands have discovered a way to create snake venom in the lab — no snake required.
By using stem cells to grow just the glands that produce venom, researchers at the Hubrecht Institute at Utrecht University figured out that not only could they create snake venom, but they could do it indefinitely, and make a steady supply to revolutionize the antivenin industry.
"I started reading up on snake bites and snake venom and saw a huge burden around the world that snakes cost to humans," stem cell researcher Dr. Hans Clevers told Quirks & Quarks host Bob McDonald.
"And also, at the same time, I realized that the amount of funding that goes to snake bite research is so very sobering."
Antivenin is 'century-old technology'
The World Health Organization estimates that up to 130,000 people are killed every year by snake bites, primarily in developing countries. Another 400,000 people are left permanently disabled with conditions like severe paralysis, bleeding disorders, irreversible kidney failure, and tissue damage, which often leads to amputation.
Antivenin is a highly effective treatment for these bites, but it's incredibly challenging to make and to distribute, especially in remote areas.
Currently, antivenin is made by milking a snake for its venom, and then injecting that venom into a horse. The horse then builds antibodies in its blood stream to tackle the venom. These antibodies are extracted, and marketed as antivenin.
"It's a century-old technology," said Clevers. "And it's dangerous."
"Every horse will be different. So horse A might make a much better drug than horse B. Also, every snake has its own venom. So you cannot just make one antivenin and then treat any snake bite in that region."
An eternal source of venom
By using stem cells to grow just the venom glands in the lab, they remove the snakes from this process, and can create an "eternal" supply of venom from just one tissue sample.
"They are like little hollow bags of cells," said Clevers. "Essentially the inside of that bag will slowly fill with the venom that you would normally find in the venom gland.
"And then you would have an eternal source of that particular venom gland of that particular snake."
Clevers hopes to create a bio bank of stem cells from the world's most dangerous snake species, to get better antivenin out to the remote areas of the world that need it the most.
The research was published this week in the journal Cell.
