Title:Apis mellifera syriaca Venom Modulates Splenic Cytokines Levels in
BALB/c Mice
Volume: 24
Issue: 1
Author(s): Christina Sahyoun, Miriam Khoury, Charbel Mouawad, Dalida Darazy, Rabih Roufayel, César Mattei, Ziad Fajloun, Christian Legros*Marc Karam*
Affiliation:
- Univ Angers, INSERM, CNRS, MITOVASC, Team 2 CarMe, SFR ICAT, 49000 Angers, France
- Faculty of Sciences, University of Balamand, Al-Kourah P.O. box 100
Tripoli, Lebanon
Keywords:
Apis mellifera syriaca, immunomodulation, IFN-γ, TNF-α, IL-4, IL-10.
Abstract: Bee venoms are well-known for their important biological activities. More specifically, the
venom of Apis mellifera syriaca was shown to exhibit various biological effects, including antimicrobial
effects. It is suggested that the anti-microbial effect of venom could be accompanied by an
immunomodulatory response in the host favoring anti-inflammatory responses. Thus, in this work, we
investigated, for the first time, the immunomodulatory effects of A. mellifera syriaca venom in mice.
Firstly, it was found that this venom exhibited mild toxicity in BALB/c mice after intraperitoneal injection
with an LD50 of 3.8 mg/kg. We then investigated its immunomodulatory effects by evaluating the
splenic levels of both pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines in mice by ELISA. Interestingly, at 1
mg/kg, A. mellifera syriaca venom induced a decrease in IFN-γ, TNF-α, IL-4, and IL-10 at 24h postinjection.
At a higher dose (3 mg/kg), an increase in IFN-γ and IL-4 levels was observed, while the
levels of TNF-α and IL-10 remained low compared to the control. Altogether, these preliminary data
suggest that A. mellifera syriaca venom exhibits anti-inflammatory effects at a sublethal dose (1
mg/kg), while at a higher dose (3 mg/kg), it induces inflammatory effects.
