Acute hepatic failure remains an extremely poor prognosis and still results in high mortality. Therefore, better treatment is urgently needed.
Melittin, a major component of
bee venom, is known to inhibit inflammatory reactions induced by
lipopolysaccharide (LPS) or
tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α in various cell types. However, there is no evidence of the anti-inflammatory and anti-apoptotic effect of
melittin on liver cells. In the present study, we investigated the effects of
melittin on D: -
galactosamine (GalN)/
lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced
acute hepatic failure. Acute liver injury was induced with GalN/LPS to determine in vivo efficacy of
melittin. Mice were randomly divided into four groups: sterile saline treated group (NC),
melittin only treated group (NM), GalN/LPS-treated group (GalN/LPS), and GalN/LPS treated with
melittin group (M+GalN/LPS). Mice were given intraperitoneal GalN/LPS with or without
melittin treatment. Liver injury was assessed biochemically and histologically. Inflammatory
cytokines in the serum, apoptosis of hepatocytes, and cleavage of
caspase-3 in the liver were determined. The expression of TNF-α and
interleukin (IL)-1β were increased in the GalN/LPS group. However, treatment of
melittin attenuated the increase of inflammatory
cytokines. The M+GalN/LPS group showed significantly fewer apoptotic cells compared to the GalN/LPS group.
Melittin significantly inhibited the expression of
caspase and
bax protein levels as well as
cytochrome c release in vivo. In addition,
melittin prevented the activation of the
transcription factor nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) induced by GalN/LPS. These results clearly indicate that
melittin provided protection against GalN/LPS-induced
acute hepatic failure through the inhibition of inflammatory
cytokines and apoptosis.