Melittin-The principal toxin of honeybee venom-Is also produced in the honeybee fat body.
Comp Biochem Physiol C Toxicol Pharmacol
; 281: 109928, 2024 Jul.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-38649084
ABSTRACT
Melittin is a powerful toxin present in honeybee venom that is active in a wide range of animals, from insects to humans. Melittin exerts numerous biological, toxicological, and pharmacological effects, the most important of which is destruction of the cell membrane. The phospholipase activity of melittin and its ability to activate phospholipases in the venom contribute to these actions. Using analytical methods, we discovered that the honeybee Apis mellifera produces melittin not only in the venom gland but also in its fat body cells, which remain resistant to this toxin's effects. We suggest that melittin acts as an anti-bacterial agent, since its gene expression is significantly upregulated when honeybees are infected with Escherichia coli and Listeria monocytogenes bacteria; additionally, melittin effectively kills these bacteria in the disc diffusion test. We hypothesize that the chemical and physicochemical properties of the melittin molecule (hydrophilicity, lipophilicity, and capacity to form tetramers) in combination with reactive conditions (melittin concentration, salt concentration, pH, and temperature) are responsible for the targeted destruction of bacterial cells and apparent tolerance towards own tissue cells. Considering that melittin is an important current and, importantly, potential broad-spectrum medication, a thorough understanding of the observed phenomena may significantly increase its use in clinical practice.
Key words
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Bee Venoms
/
Fat Body
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Escherichia coli
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Melitten
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Anti-Bacterial Agents
Limits:
Animals
Language:
En
Journal:
Comp Biochem Physiol C Toxicol Pharmacol
Journal subject:
FARMACOLOGIA
/
TOXICOLOGIA
Year:
2024
Document type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Country of publication: