Using the venom from 312 honeybees and bumblebees in Perth Western Australia, Ireland and England, Dr Ciara Duffy from the Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research and The University of Western Australia, tested the effect of the venom on the clinical subtypes of breast cancer, including triple-negative breast cancer, which has limited treatment options.
These results were published in the journal npj Precision Oncology revealed that the honeybee venom did rapidly destroy triple-negative breast cancer and HER2-enriched breast cancer cells.
The aim of the research was to test the anti-cancer properties of honeybee venom, and the component compound, Melittin, on different types of breast cancer cells.
No one had previously compared the effects of honeybee venom or Melittin across all of the different subtypes of breast cancer and normal cells.
The institute tested a very small, positively charged peptide in honeybee venom called Melittin, which they could reproduce synthetically, and found that the synthetic product definitely mirrored the majority of the anti-cancer effects found in honeybee venom, per Dr. Duffy.
They also found both honeybee venom and Melittin significantly, and selectively, rapidly reduced the viability of triple-negative breast cancer and HER2-enriched breast cancer cells.
“The venom was extremely potent”
A specific concentration of honeybee venom can induce 100% cancer cell death while having minimal effects on normal cells. “Now that is incredible”
They also found that Melittin can completely destroy cancer cell membranes within 60 minutes.
Melittin in honeybee venom was also found to have another remarkable effect; within 20 minutes, Melittin was able to substantially reduce the chemical messages of cancer cells that are essential to cancer cell growth and cell division. Wow!!!
Melittin modulated the signaling in breast cancer cells by suppressing the activation of the receptor that is commonly overexpressed in triple-negative breast cancer, the epidermal growth factor receptor, and it suppressed the activation of HER2 which is over-expressed in HER2-enriched breast cancer, per Dr. Duffy.
Western Australia’s Chief Scientist Professor Peter Klinken said “This is an incredibly exciting observation that Melittin, a major component of honeybee venom, can suppress the growth of deadly breast cancer cells, particularly triple-negative breast cancer.
The institute also found that Melittin can be used with small molecules or chemotherapies, such as Docetaxel, to treat highly aggressive types of breast cancer. This combination of Melittin and Docetaxel was extremely efficient in reducing tumor growth in mice.
Perth bees are some of the healthiest in the world, the bees were put to sleep with carbon dioxide before the venom barb was removed and the venom was extracted very delicately.
While there are 20,000 species of bees, Dr. Duffy, from the Harry Perkins Institute wanted to compare the effects of Perth honeybee venom to other honeybee populations in Ireland and England, as well as to the venom of bumblebees.
She found that the European honeybee in Australia, Ireland, and England produced almost identical effects in breast cancer compared to normal cells. However, bumblebee venom was unable to induce cell death even at very high concentrations.
One of the first reports of the effects of bee venom was published in Nature in 1950, where the venom reduced the growth of tumors in plants. However, it has been only in the past two decades that interest grew substantially into the effects that honeybee venom had on different cancers cells.
Studies will continue and be required to formally assess the optimum method of delivery of Melittin, as well as toxicities and maximum tolerated doses.
Story Source:
Materials provided by Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.
Journal Reference:
- Ciara Duffy, Anabel Sorolla, Edina Wang, Emily Golden, Eleanor Woodward, Kathleen Davern, Diwei Ho, Elizabeth Johnstone, Kevin Pfleger, Andrew Redfern, K. Swaminathan Iyer, Boris Baer, Pilar Blancafort. Honeybee venom and melittin suppress growth factor receptor activation in HER2-enriched and triple-negative breast cancer. npj Precision Oncology, 2020; 4 (1) DOI: 10.1038/s41698-020-00129-0