[reverett123]

There may be something to it-


1: Int Immunopharmacol. 2007 Aug;7(8):1092-101. Epub 2007 May 2.

Bee venom and melittin reduce proinflammatory mediators in
lipopolysaccharide-stimulated BV2 microglia.

Moon DO, Park SY, Lee KJ, Heo MS, Kim KC, Kim MO, Lee JD, Choi YH, Kim GY.

Faculty of Applied Marine Science, Cheju National University, Jeju-si, Jeju
Special Self-Governing Province 690-756, South Korea.

Bee venom (BV), well known as a traditional Oriental medicine, has been shown to
exhibit anti-arthritic and anti-carcinogenic effects. However, the molecular
mechanisms responsible for the anti-inflammatory activity of BV have not been
elucidated in microglia. In the present study, we investigated the
anti-inflammatory effect of BV and its major component, melittin (MEL), on
lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated BV2 microglia. Our results indicate that BV
and MEL suppress LPS-induced nitric oxide (NO) and inducible NO synthase (iNOS)
expression in a dose-dependent manner, without causing cytotoxicity in BV2
microglia. Moreover, BV and MEL suppressed LPS-induced activation of nuclear
factor kappa B (NF-kappaB) by blocking degradation of IkappaBalpha and
phosphorylation of c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) and Akt, which resulted in
inhibition of iNOS expression. Our data also indicate that BV and MEL exert
anti-inflammatory effects by suppressing the transcription of cyclooxygenase
(COX)-2 genes and proinflammatory cytokines, such as interleukin (IL)-1beta, IL-6
and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha. BV and MEL also attenuated the production
of prostaglandin E(2) (PGE(2)). These results demonstrate that BV and MEL possess
a potent suppressive effect on proinflammatory responses of BV2 microglia and
suggest that these compounds may offer substantial therapeutic potential for
treatment of neurodegenerative diseases that are accompanied by microglial
activation.


PMID: 17570326 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]