Ultrastructural analysis of early toxic effects produced by bee venom phospholipase A2 and melittin in Sertoli cells in rats

Tilincă, Mariana; Florea, Adrian

doi:10.1016/j.toxicon.2017.12.039

Cited by 3 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 64 publications

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“…Distinct components of bee venom might induce unexpected side effects. Along this line, a recent study provided evidence for interference of subcutaneously injected phospholipase A2 and melittin with spermatogenesis in rats [80]. The use of whole bee venom for therapeutic application might be questionable, not only due to inconsistent beneficial effects but also because of potential side effects and the high risk of this bee venom therapy [12].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Apitoxin and Its Components against Cancer, Neurodegeneration and Rheumatoid Arthritis: Limitations and Possibilities

Aufschnaiter

Kohler

Khalifa

et al. 2020

Toxins

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Natural products represent important sources for the discovery and design of novel drugs. Bee venom and its isolated components have been intensively studied with respect to their potential to counteract or ameliorate diverse human diseases. Despite extensive research and significant advances in recent years, multifactorial diseases such as cancer, rheumatoid arthritis and neurodegenerative diseases remain major healthcare issues at present. Although pure bee venom, apitoxin, is mostly described to mediate anti-inflammatory, anti-arthritic and neuroprotective effects, its primary component melittin may represent an anticancer therapeutic. In this review, we approach the possibilities and limitations of apitoxin and its components in the treatment of these multifactorial diseases. We further discuss the observed unspecific cytotoxicity of melittin that strongly restricts its therapeutic use and review interesting possibilities of a beneficial use by selectively targeting melittin to cancer cells.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Apitoxin and Its Components against Cancer, Neurodegeneration and Rheumatoid Arthritis: Limitations and Possibilities

Aufschnaiter

Kohler

Khalifa

et al. 2020

Toxins

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“…The injuries were produced directly at the AP level by other molecules from the BV brought here by the blood flow, mainly by melittin and phospholipase A2, the most important components of the BV (50 and 14%, respectively, from the dry weight of the venom; Habermann, 1972). But we found extensive cellular damages that also occurred in other organs and tissues of the rats injected with BV or BV derivatives: kidney (Florea et al, 2002), hypothalamus (Florea et al, 2003 b ), liver (Florea et al, 2003 a ), frontal cortex (Florea et al, 2011), aorta and skeletal muscle (Florea & Crăciun, 2012), blood and bone marrow (Florea & Crăciun, 2013), and testes (Florea et al, 2017; Tilinca & Florea, 2018). A negative feedback process could be taken into consideration that in turn contributed to overstimulation of STCs to produce GH required for the regeneration processes in the whole organism.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bee Venom Stimulates Hormone Secretion in Rat Somatotroph and Corticotroph Cells: Digital Image Analysis of Secretory Granules

Florea

Hof

Hazi³

et al. 2019

Microsc Microanal

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In this study, we characterized secretory granules in somatotroph (STCs) and corticotroph (CTCs) cells from the anterior pituitary of rats, in conjunction with different experimental treatments with bee venom (BV). In the rats injected for 30 days with daily BV doses equivalent to one sting, we found significant changes in secretory granules' diameter: reduced by 48.15% in STCs and increased by 5.09% in CTCs, and especially a shift to gray into their intensity profile: increased by 237.04% in STCs and by 212.38% in CTCs. In the rats injected with a single high BV dose, the granules' diameter was reduced in both STCs (by 7.14%) and CTCs (by 4.67%—significant) and their gray intensity profile increased by 200% in STCs and by 51.71% in CTCs (both are significant). The changes in the gray profile reflected a reduced content of granules in the cells, consistent with an increase of the plasma levels of GH and ACTH in all cases. We concluded that the reduced hormone cargo of granules in STCs and CTCs resulted from an accelerated cell secretion. The results obtained for the two types of cells correlated, indicating a similar reaction of these secretory cells to the prolonged and acute presence of BV in the organism.

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Low semen quality and adverse histological changes in testes of adult male mice treated with bee venom (Apis mellifera)

2021

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Background: Male infertility has been on the rise since the past seven decades. Recently, in Libya, bee venom therapy (BVT) has become a popular method among alternative healthcare practitioners for treating male infertility. However, a literature search did not find any published studies that investigated the use of BVT for infertility treatment. Aim: To investigate the effect of bee venom on the male reproductive status through measurements of semen quality parameters and testicular histological changes in adult male mice. Methods: A total of 48 male mice were randomly divided into three experimental groups (which were subdivided into two subgroups with eight mice each) as follows: control, bee venom sting (BVS), and bee venom injection (BVI). The normal control subgroup mice were not subjected to any treatment, while the vehicle control subgroup mice were injected (i.p.) with 200 μl of 0.9% saline solution. In the BVS-treated subgroups, each mouse was stung by one live bee for five times (BVS-5) or seven times (BVS-7) every third day for 2 or 3 weeks. While each mouse in the BVI-treated subgroups received 23 μg/kg in a dose volume of 200 μl BVIs (i.p.) for five times (BVI-5) or seven times (BVI-7) every third day for 15 or 21 days. Results: The findings of this study showed that repeated bee venom treatment by sting or injection to adult male mice resulted in a significant decline in testosterone levels, sperm count, sperm motility, and a very significant increase in the percentage of abnormal sperm morphology; also, there were harmful testicular histological changes in the structural organization of seminiferous tubules and degenerative changes in the germinal epithelium compared to control group. Conclusion: The results of this study provide evidence for the low semen quality and adverse testicular histological changes in male mice treated with bee venom. Hence, there is a desperate need for educating alternative healthcare practitioners and infertile couples about the harmful effects of BVT on reproductive status.

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Ultrastructural analysis of early toxic effects produced by bee venom phospholipase A2 and melittin in Sertoli cells in rats

Cited by 3 publications

References 64 publications

Apitoxin and Its Components against Cancer, Neurodegeneration and Rheumatoid Arthritis: Limitations and Possibilities

Apitoxin and Its Components against Cancer, Neurodegeneration and Rheumatoid Arthritis: Limitations and Possibilities

Bee Venom Stimulates Hormone Secretion in Rat Somatotroph and Corticotroph Cells: Digital Image Analysis of Secretory Granules

Low semen quality and adverse histological changes in testes of adult male mice treated with bee venom (Apis mellifera)

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