Abstract

The purpose of this study is to elucidate the molecular mechanism of anti-inflammatory effect of bee venom (BV), which has been used for the treatment of various inflammatory diseases in oriental medicine. With this aim, we examined the effects of BV on the nitric oxide (NO) production by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) or sodium nitroprusside in RAW264.7 macrophages. We further investigated the effects of BV on the expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) with RT-PCR in LPS-stimulated RAW264.7 cells. BV suppressed the NO production and decreased the levels of iNOS, COX-2, NF-κB and MAPK mRNA in a dose-dependent manner. These results suggest that BV has an anti-inflammatory effect by inhibiting iNOS and COX-2 expression, possibly through suppression of NF-κB and MAPK expression. © 2005 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Author keywords

Bee venom; Cyclooxygenase-2; Mitogen-activated protein kinase; Nitric oxide synthase; Nuclear factor-κB

Indexed keywords

EMTREE drug terms: bee venom; cyclooxygenase 2; immunoglobulin enhancer binding protein; inducible nitric oxide synthase; lipopolysaccharide; messenger RNA; mitogen activated protein kinase; nitric oxide; nitroprusside sodium

EMTREE medical terms: animal cell; antiinflammatory activity; article; cell line; cell stimulation; concentration response; controlled study; drug effect; drug inhibition; drug mechanism; drug use; enzyme inhibition; examination; inflammatory cell; macrophage; mouse; nonhuman; protein expression; reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction; traditional medicine

MeSH: Animals; Bee Venoms; Cell Line; Cyclooxygenase 2; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Inflammation; Lipopolysaccharides; Macrophages; Mice; Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases; NF-kappa B; Nitric Oxide; Nitric Oxide Synthase; Nitric Oxide Synthase Type II; Nitroprusside; Prostaglandin-Endoperoxide Synthases; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction
Medline is the source for the MeSH terms of this document.

Species Index: Apoidea

Chemicals and CAS Registry Numbers: inducible nitric oxide synthase, 501433-35-8; mitogen activated protein kinase, 142243-02-5; nitric oxide, 10102-43-9; nitroprusside sodium, 14402-89-2, 15078-28-1;Bee Venoms; Cyclooxygenase 2, EC 1.14.99.1; Lipopolysaccharides; Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases, EC 2.7.1.37; NF-kappa B; Nitric Oxide Synthase Type II, EC 1.14.13.39; Nitric Oxide Synthase, EC 1.14.13.39; Nitric Oxide, 10102-43-9; Nitroprusside, 15078-28-1; Nos2 protein, mouse, EC 1.14.13.39; Prostaglandin-Endoperoxide Synthases, EC 1.14.99.1