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Volume 12
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10.3390/toxins12020066
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Review

Apitoxin and Its Components against Cancer, Neurodegeneration and Rheumatoid Arthritis: Limitations and Possibilities

by
Andreas Aufschnaiter
1,
Verena Kohler
2,
Shaden Khalifa
2,
Aida Abd El-Wahed
3,4,5,
Ming Du
6,
Hesham El-Seedi
4,5,7,* and
Sabrina Büttner
2,8,*
1
Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Stockholm University, Svante Arrheniusväg 16, 106 91 Stockholm, Sweden
2
Department of Molecular Biosciences, The Wenner-Gren Institute, Stockholm University, Svante Arrheniusväg 20C, 106 91 Stockholm, Sweden
3
Department of Bee Research, Plant Protection Research Institute, Agricultural Research Centre, 12627 Giza, Egypt
4
Pharmacognosy Group, Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Uppsala University, Biomedical Centre, Box 574, 751 23 Uppsala, Sweden
5
Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Menoufia University, 32512 Shebin El-Kom, Egypt
6
School of Food Science and Technology, National Engineering Research Center of Seafood, Dalian Polytechnic University, Dalian 116024, China
7
International Research Center for Food nutrition and safety, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, China
8
Institute of Molecular Biosciences, University of Graz, Humboldtstraße 50, 8010 Graz, Austria
*
Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Toxins 2020, 12(2), 66; https://doi.org/10.3390/toxins12020066
Submission received: 14 December 2019 / Revised: 18 January 2020 / Accepted: 19 January 2020 / Published: 21 January 2020
(This article belongs to the Section Animal Venoms)
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Abstract

Natural products represent important sources for the discovery and design of novel drugs. Bee venom and its isolated components have been intensively studied with respect to their potential to counteract or ameliorate diverse human diseases. Despite extensive research and significant advances in recent years, multifactorial diseases such as cancer, rheumatoid arthritis and neurodegenerative diseases remain major healthcare issues at present. Although pure bee venom, apitoxin, is mostly described to mediate anti-inflammatory, anti-arthritic and neuroprotective effects, its primary component melittin may represent an anticancer therapeutic. In this review, we approach the possibilities and limitations of apitoxin and its components in the treatment of these multifactorial diseases. We further discuss the observed unspecific cytotoxicity of melittin that strongly restricts its therapeutic use and review interesting possibilities of a beneficial use by selectively targeting melittin to cancer cells.
Keywords: apamin; apitoxin; bee venom; cancer; melittin; neurodegeneration; phospholipase A2; rheumatoid arthritis apamin; apitoxin; bee venom; cancer; melittin; neurodegeneration; phospholipase A2; rheumatoid arthritis
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MDPI and ACS Style

Aufschnaiter, A.; Kohler, V.; Khalifa, S.; Abd El-Wahed, A.; Du, M.; El-Seedi, H.; Büttner, S. Apitoxin and Its Components against Cancer, Neurodegeneration and Rheumatoid Arthritis: Limitations and Possibilities. Toxins 2020, 12, 66. https://doi.org/10.3390/toxins12020066

AMA Style

Aufschnaiter A, Kohler V, Khalifa S, Abd El-Wahed A, Du M, El-Seedi H, Büttner S. Apitoxin and Its Components against Cancer, Neurodegeneration and Rheumatoid Arthritis: Limitations and Possibilities. Toxins. 2020; 12(2):66. https://doi.org/10.3390/toxins12020066

Chicago/Turabian Style

Aufschnaiter, Andreas, Verena Kohler, Shaden Khalifa, Aida Abd El-Wahed, Ming Du, Hesham El-Seedi, and Sabrina Büttner. 2020. "Apitoxin and Its Components against Cancer, Neurodegeneration and Rheumatoid Arthritis: Limitations and Possibilities" Toxins 12, no. 2: 66. https://doi.org/10.3390/toxins12020066

APA Style

Aufschnaiter, A., Kohler, V., Khalifa, S., Abd El-Wahed, A., Du, M., El-Seedi, H., & Büttner, S. (2020). Apitoxin and Its Components against Cancer, Neurodegeneration and Rheumatoid Arthritis: Limitations and Possibilities. Toxins, 12(2), 66. https://doi.org/10.3390/toxins12020066

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