Cellular toxicity and biological activities of honey bee (Apis mellifera L.) venom

Bee venom (BV) has been suggested as an apitherapy tool to be considered for various diseases including cancer. However, the mechanisms action of BV and its toxicity on tumorigenic and nontumorigenic cells are poorly understood. Here, we investigated the antiproliferative, cytotoxic and antibacterial activities of honey bee (Apis mellifera L.) venom on nontumorigenic cells, several tumor cell lines and multidrug resistant human pathogens (MDRP) such as Extended Spectrum Beta-Lactamases producing Escherichia coli and Vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus Enterococcus faecium. BV treatment showed significant antiproliferative, cytotoxic and antibacterial activities. Our results suggest that BV is highly toxic not only to cancer cell lines but also to nontumorigenic cell line as well. We also investigated the mechanism action of BV, which caused a cleavage of genomic DNA and inhibition of cell migration, indicating induction of apoptosis. Immunohistochemistry studies demonstrated that BV decreased the expression of Bcl-2 and P16. BV showed antimicrobial activity against several tested-MDRP. Our results indicate that clinic consideration of BV for the treatment of malignancy needs to be re-evaluated due to its cytotoxicity against normal cells.