El-Tedawy Doaa Mohamed, Abd-Alhaseeb Mohammad Mahmoud, Helmy Maged Wasfy, Ghoneim Asser Ibrahim
Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Damanhour University, Damanhour, Beheira 22516, Egypt.
Biomed Rep. 2020 Oct;13(4):20. doi: 10.3892/br.2020.1327. Epub 2020 Jul 9.
Bee venom (BV) is widely used as a traditional China medicine to treat various conditions, including rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effects of systemic BV (60 mg/kg) as an anti-arthritic natural product, compare it with Methotrexate and determine the possible underlying mechanisms of BV action using complete Freund's adjuvant-induced arthritic rats. The development of signs of RA signs (knee joint circumference and arthritis scoring index) was evaluated. Erythrocyte sedimentation rate, serum tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and serum interleukin-1β (IL-1β) levels were measured at the end of the study. Histopathological examination followed by immunostaining of NF-κB (P65) was performed on the affected knee joints. Additionally, cyclooxygenase (COX) inhibition activity, carrageenan paw edema test and acetic acid writhing tests were performed to evaluate the anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects of the assessed dose and compared with diclofenac. An acute toxicity test was performed to establish the safety of BV at high doses. The results of the present study highlighted the potential of systemic BV on preventing the development of signs of RA. BV also significantly reduced serum levels of TNF-α, IL-1β and NF-κB in the affected joints. In addition to its potent analgesic activity, BV exhibited favorable inhibitory activity of the COX pathway in both and models. Therefore, high dose administration of systemic BV displayed safe and promising anti-arthritic, anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties through regulation of different mechanisms associated with the pathogenesis of RA.
蜂毒（BV）作为一种传统中药被广泛用于治疗包括类风湿性关节炎（RA）在内的各种病症。本研究的目的是评估全身性BV（60毫克/千克）作为一种抗关节炎天然产物的效果，将其与甲氨蝶呤进行比较，并使用完全弗氏佐剂诱导的关节炎大鼠确定BV作用的可能潜在机制。评估了RA体征（膝关节周长和关节炎评分指数）的发展情况。在研究结束时测量红细胞沉降率、血清肿瘤坏死因子-α（TNF-α）和血清白细胞介素-1β（IL-1β）水平。对受影响的膝关节进行组织病理学检查并随后进行NF-κB（P65）免疫染色。此外，进行了环氧化酶（COX）抑制活性、角叉菜胶足趾肿胀试验和醋酸扭体试验，以评估所评估剂量的抗炎和镇痛效果，并与双氯芬酸进行比较。进行了急性毒性试验以确定高剂量BV的安全性。本研究结果突出了全身性BV在预防RA体征发展方面的潜力。BV还显著降低了受影响关节中TNF-α、IL-1β和NF-κB的血清水平。除了其强效镇痛活性外，BV在两种模型中均表现出对COX途径的良好抑制活性。因此，全身性BV的高剂量给药通过调节与RA发病机制相关的不同机制，显示出安全且有前景的抗关节炎、抗炎和镇痛特性。
