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

Abstract

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.

• Authors: Jae Eun Lee, Vikash Kumar Shah, Eun-Jung Lee, Min-Seok Oh, Jeong June Choi
• Journal: Journal of pharmacological sciences (J Pharmacol Sci) Vol. 140 Issue 1 Pg. 26-32 (May 2019) ISSN: 1347-8648 [Electronic] Japan
• PMID: 31113730 (Publication Type: Journal Article)
• Copyright: Copyright © 2019 The Authors. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Chemical References

• Actins
• Anti-Inflammatory Agents
• Bee Venoms
• Ccl2 protein, mouse
• Chemokine CCL2
• Inflammation Mediators
• Interleukin-6
• MyoD Protein
• MyoD1 myogenic differentiation protein
• Myogenin
• Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha
• Melitten
• Myosin Heavy Chains

Topics

• Actins (genetics, metabolism)
• Animals
• Anti-Inflammatory Agents
• Bee Venoms (pharmacology, therapeutic use)
• Chemokine CCL2 (metabolism)
• Contusions (drug therapy, genetics, metabolism)
• Disease Models, Animal
• Dose-Response Relationship, Drug
• Gene Expression
• Inflammation Mediators (metabolism)
• Interleukin-6 (metabolism)
• Male
• Melitten (pharmacology, therapeutic use)
• Mice, Inbred C57BL
• Muscle, Skeletal (metabolism)
• MyoD Protein (genetics, metabolism)
• Myogenin (genetics, metabolism)
• Myosin Heavy Chains (genetics, metabolism)
• Regeneration (genetics)
• Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha (metabolism)