Melittin as a safe compound to BALB/c mice immune system; a tiered approach immunotoxicity screening
Abstract Background Maintenance of immune system integrity is a vital requirement to protect human body against pathogens/cancers. Natural compounds have long been used due to their benefits for the immune system. One of which is bee venom that contains a peptide called melittin having antimicrobial...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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BMC
2023-10-01
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| Series: | BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12906-023-04228-w |
| _version_ | 1797578171561803776 |
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| author | Gholamreza Karimi Sina Fatemi Bahram Memar Mohammad-Bagher Khorrami Arian Amali Mahmood Sadeghi Seyed-Alireza Esmaeili Bamdad Riahi-Zanjani |
| author_facet | Gholamreza Karimi Sina Fatemi Bahram Memar Mohammad-Bagher Khorrami Arian Amali Mahmood Sadeghi Seyed-Alireza Esmaeili Bamdad Riahi-Zanjani |
| author_sort | Gholamreza Karimi |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background Maintenance of immune system integrity is a vital requirement to protect human body against pathogens/cancers. Natural compounds have long been used due to their benefits for the immune system. One of which is bee venom that contains a peptide called melittin having antimicrobial and anticancer effects. Since a limited number of studies regarding the effects of melittin on the immune system have been carried out, we aimed to evaluate the effects of melittin on BALB/c mice immune system parameters. Methods Female BALB /c mice were treated intraperitoneally (i.p) with 0.75 and 1.5 mg/kg doses of melittin for 14 days (5 doses per week). The negative control group received i.p normal saline whereas the positive controls received i.p 20 mg/kg cyclophosphamide (CYP). Immunological parameters such as hematological parameters, delayed-type hypersensitivity (DTH), hemagglutination titer (HA), spleen cellularity, splenocytes proliferation, as well as spleen and bone marrow histopathological assessment were evaluated. Results Our findings showed that melittin has no gross pathological effect on the spleen and bone marrow. It was also demonstrated that melittin has no any significant effect on hematological parameters. Melittin did not cause any significant changes to proliferation response of splenocytes to PHA and LPS, spleen cellularity, DTH response, as well as the production of anti-SRBC antibodies. According to our results, melittin at 0.75 and 1.5 mg/kg doses could not induce significant changes on immune parameters and as a result, melittin was found to be safe for the mice immune system. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T22:19:20Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-695350e1e8ab4a71ad93417a92427dc3 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2662-7671 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T22:19:20Z |
| publishDate | 2023-10-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies |
| spelling | doaj.art-695350e1e8ab4a71ad93417a92427dc32023-11-19T12:20:56ZengBMCBMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies2662-76712023-10-012311910.1186/s12906-023-04228-wMelittin as a safe compound to BALB/c mice immune system; a tiered approach immunotoxicity screeningGholamreza Karimi0Sina Fatemi1Bahram Memar2Mohammad-Bagher Khorrami3Arian Amali4Mahmood Sadeghi5Seyed-Alireza Esmaeili6Bamdad Riahi-Zanjani7Pharmaceutical Research Center, Pharmaceutical Technology Institute, Mashhad University of Medical SciencesSchool of Pharmacy, Mashhad University of Medical SciencesCancer Research Center, Faculty of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical SciencesSocial Security OrganizationStudent Research Committee, Paramedical Department, Islamic Azad University, Mashhad BranchMedical Toxicology and Drug Abuse Research Center (MTDRC), Birjand University of Medical SciencesImmunology Research Center, Mashhad University of Medical SciencesMedical Toxicology Research Center, Mashhad University of Medical SciencesAbstract Background Maintenance of immune system integrity is a vital requirement to protect human body against pathogens/cancers. Natural compounds have long been used due to their benefits for the immune system. One of which is bee venom that contains a peptide called melittin having antimicrobial and anticancer effects. Since a limited number of studies regarding the effects of melittin on the immune system have been carried out, we aimed to evaluate the effects of melittin on BALB/c mice immune system parameters. Methods Female BALB /c mice were treated intraperitoneally (i.p) with 0.75 and 1.5 mg/kg doses of melittin for 14 days (5 doses per week). The negative control group received i.p normal saline whereas the positive controls received i.p 20 mg/kg cyclophosphamide (CYP). Immunological parameters such as hematological parameters, delayed-type hypersensitivity (DTH), hemagglutination titer (HA), spleen cellularity, splenocytes proliferation, as well as spleen and bone marrow histopathological assessment were evaluated. Results Our findings showed that melittin has no gross pathological effect on the spleen and bone marrow. It was also demonstrated that melittin has no any significant effect on hematological parameters. Melittin did not cause any significant changes to proliferation response of splenocytes to PHA and LPS, spleen cellularity, DTH response, as well as the production of anti-SRBC antibodies. According to our results, melittin at 0.75 and 1.5 mg/kg doses could not induce significant changes on immune parameters and as a result, melittin was found to be safe for the mice immune system.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12906-023-04228-wMelittinImmune systemHumoral immunityCellular immunity |
| spellingShingle | Gholamreza Karimi Sina Fatemi Bahram Memar Mohammad-Bagher Khorrami Arian Amali Mahmood Sadeghi Seyed-Alireza Esmaeili Bamdad Riahi-Zanjani Melittin as a safe compound to BALB/c mice immune system; a tiered approach immunotoxicity screening BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies Melittin Immune system Humoral immunity Cellular immunity |
| title | Melittin as a safe compound to BALB/c mice immune system; a tiered approach immunotoxicity screening |
| title_full | Melittin as a safe compound to BALB/c mice immune system; a tiered approach immunotoxicity screening |
| title_fullStr | Melittin as a safe compound to BALB/c mice immune system; a tiered approach immunotoxicity screening |
| title_full_unstemmed | Melittin as a safe compound to BALB/c mice immune system; a tiered approach immunotoxicity screening |
| title_short | Melittin as a safe compound to BALB/c mice immune system; a tiered approach immunotoxicity screening |
| title_sort | melittin as a safe compound to balb c mice immune system a tiered approach immunotoxicity screening |
| topic | Melittin Immune system Humoral immunity Cellular immunity |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12906-023-04228-w |
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