Thursday, April 01, 2010

Bee Venom Components Impact Contraction of Arteries

Mechanisms of Changes in Coronary Arterial Tone Induced by Bee Venom Toxins
Toxicon, 2010 Mar 19

Our study elucidates some mechanisms of contractions or relaxations of isolated porcine left anterior descending coronary artery (LAD) induced by two peptides from the honeybee venom, melittin and apamin...

Melittin at lower concentrations (0.1-10 mug/ml) induced transient relaxation, and contraction at higher concentrations (>/= 7 mug/ml). The removing of the endothelium diminished the melittin-induced relaxation but did not affect the maximal contraction...

Our data show that melittin and apamin could affect contractility of porcine LAD at concentrations similar to those encountered in multiple honeybee stings in humans. Melittin could directly affect contractility of porcine LAD, whereas apamin acts as a modulator of the relaxant response to melittin.

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