28/08/2024
Honeybee venom can rapidly kill aggressive breast cancer cells.
Scientists found that the venom was extremely effective in reducing tumor growth in animal models, especially when it was combined with existing chemotherapy drugs. The venom managed to kill cancer cells without harming normal healthy cells. Scientists discovered that bee venom contains a cancer-killing component called melittin. The researchers managed to reproduce the melittin synthetically in the lab, and found it had most of the anti-cancer effects. Melittin was able to kill cancer cells within just 60 minutes. This component enters the surface of the cell or the plasma membrane, and forms holes or pores, causing the cell to die. Scientists also found that melittin was jamming the main messaging or signaling pathways that allow cancer cells to communicate with each other in order to replicate and grow. When combine with chemotherapy drugs, melittin was found to be more effective at killing tumors. The holes that were created by melittin on the surface of cancer cells allowed chemotherapy drugs to enter the target cells. As a result, it worked very efficiently in reducing tumor growth in mice.