Honey Bees- Warrior against deadly breast cancer cells!

–Richismita Hazra, Amity University Kolkata

The western honeybee Apis mellifera has been contributing honey, propolis, and venom to the field of medicine for thousands of years. A recent study says, the active element of honeybee venom MELITTIN-molecule behind the painful sensation of bee’s sting, killed two types of breast cancer cells named Tripple-negative breast cancer cell and HER2-enriched breast cancer cell speedily within 60 minutes which were onerous to treat and the toxins left healthy cells unharmed.

Laboratory tests say that Melittin is toxic to an extensive range of tumors (melanoma, ovarian, pancreatic cancers, etc.) Astonishingly, Melittin requires 20 minutes to disrupt the signaling pathways that are essential for the growth and reproduction of the cancer cells thereby preventing cell proliferation.

This strategy could potentially be used to reduce the dosage of chemotherapy drugs since Melittin creates pores in the cell membrane that could allow existing chemotherapy drugs to penetrate better. To add to its advantage, honeybee venom being relatively cheap and easily available makes itself virtuous enough for breast cancer treatment.

Source: Honeybee venom and melittin suppress growth factor receptor activation in HER2-enriched and triple-negative breast cancer, Duffy, C., Sorolla, A., Wang, E. et al. Nature Partner Journals, Precis. Oncology. 4, 24 (2020). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41698-020-00129-0