Western honey bee (Apis mellifera), an important pollinator plays a vital role in our ecosystems. Image credit: Wikipedia
Honeybees provide so many benefits to humans that this is yet another reason to protect and preserve them. A very interesting fact I recently came across is that honeybee venom is being studied as an experimental agent in cancer research, particularly for its effects on human breast cancer cells.
So, does honeybee venom hold the potential to create new treatments for cancer? Scientists are focusing on a substance in honeybee venom called melittin (the main peptide component of the venom).
An interesting study published in 2020 in the journal npj Precision Oncology revealed that honeybee venom and its component melittin could destroy cancer cells very quickly under laboratory conditions. The researchers specifically studied melittin鈥檚 effects on triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) and HER2-positive breast cancer cells.
They found that melittin has various mechanisms of action, including blocking cancer cell growth by acting on the HER2 and EGFR signalling pathways and causing the death of cancer cells by disrupting their membranes.
In some experimental settings, nearly 100% of the cancer cells were killed. Melittin also enhanced the effects of the chemotherapy drug docetaxel in the experimental studies.
Nonetheless, these results must be taken with caution: findings from laboratory studies do not necessarily mean the same results will occur in humans. Moreover, melittin can also affect healthy cells, so it is important to minimise potential adverse effects on non-cancerous tissues. Honeybee venom therefore remains an experimental area of research in the field of oncology.
Although the findings seem very encouraging and could possibly form the basis for new cancer therapies in the future, further research is still needed.
This is really a fascinating finding. Honeybees are full of surprises. Who knows what else we鈥檒l discover?
Let鈥檚 help protect our honeybees.
Reference:
Duffy, C., Sorolla, A., Wang, E., et al. (2020). Honeybee venom and melittin suppress growth factor receptor activation in HER2-enriched and triple-negative breast cancer. npj Precision Oncology, 4, 24.
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41698-020-00129-0
