Journal of Pharmacological Sciences (May 2019)

Melittin – A bee venom component – Enhances muscle regeneration factors expression in a mouse model of skeletal muscle contusion

  • Jae Eun Lee,
  • Vikash Kumar Shah,
  • Eun-Jung Lee,
  • Min-Seok Oh,
  • Jeong June Choi

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jphs.2019.03.009
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 140, no. 1
pp. 26 – 32

Abstract

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Melittin is a major peptide component of sweet bee venom that possesses anti-allergic, anti-inflammatory, anti-arthritis, anti-cancer, and neuroprotective properties. However, the therapeutic effects of melittin on muscle injury have not been elucidated. We investigated the therapeutic effects of melittin on muscle injury in a mouse model of muscle contusion. The biceps femoris muscle of the mice was injured using drop mass method, and the animals were treated with melittin (4, 20, or 100 μg/kg) for 7 days. Melittin significantly increased: locomotor activity in open field test, and treadmill running activity in a dose-dependent manner to level comparable to the positive control, diclofenac (30 mg/kg). Melittin treatment attenuated the pro-inflammatory cytokine MCP-1, TNF-α and IL-6. The expression of muscle regeneration biomarkers, including MyoD (muscle differentiation marker), myogenin, smooth muscle actin, and myosin heavy chain was markedly increased in the injured muscle tissue of melittin-treated mice, as determined by western blotting and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. These results demonstrate that melittin inhibits inflammatory response and improves muscle damage by regenerating muscles in a mouse model of muscle contusion. Taken together, the results of present study suggest that melittin is a promising candidate for the muscle injury treatment. Keywords: Melittin, Sweet bee venom, Muscle contusion, Muscle regeneration, Anti-inflammatory effects