Scientists have proposed to fight Breast Cancer with bee Venom

A Molecule in Honeybee Venom Destroys Breast Cancer Cells in The Lab, Research Study Shows

A group of Australian scientists, led by Kara Duffy, have for the past few years investigated bee venom for its beneficial properties and came to the unexpected conclusion that it is capable of resisting benign breast formations.

Scientists have previously seen how certain peptides and proteins in bee venom can be used to deliver drugs across the blood-brain barrier, but Kara Duffy’s research has taken a new direction.

The venom of a honeybee, or rather its active agent melittin, has been tested on normal cells and cells of three clinical subtypes of breast cancer. The devastating effect of the poison was observed in all three cell types.

Honeybee venom induces cancer cell death in aggressive breast cancer

 

Scientists have found that the venom of the honeybee

A team of scientists discovered that a certain concentration of bee venom could be used to cause the death of 100% of cancer cells, while healthy cells would be almost intact. Meanwhile, according to Duffy, melittin «completely destroys the membranes of cancer cells within 60 minutes».

Scientists have found that the venom of the honeybee and the melittine specifically, both point-to-point and rapidly reduce the viability of the three types of cancer that were studied in the laboratory.

There have also been some interesting observations about how melittin works. The team found that within 20 minutes, the connection blocked some of the key signaling pathways used by cancer cells for growth and reproduction. This ability of melittin to disable key chemical messages by suppressing the activity of certain receptors was a major discovery in the study.

Honeybee Venom Destroys Breast Cancer Cells

Mellitin essentially «pierces» the cell membranes of cancer cells, which can be formed in the breast, so the researchers immediately worked out the formation of the substance in connection with popular chemotherapeutic preparations, that could potentially help them access cancer cells.

We have found that melittin can be used with small molecules or chemotherapeutic drugs, such as potassium, to treat highly aggressive breast cancers, says Duffy. - The combination of melittin and dozetaksel was extremely effective in reducing tumor growth in mice».

Although this is very promising, the research is still in its infancy. The project team is currently looking for the best ways to deliver melittin to cancer cells, as well as exploring the potential for side effects and finding the optimal dosage of the substance.