Ayoub Mohamad, Fayjaloun Salma, Roufayel Rabih, El Obeid Dany, Fajloun Ziad, Rima Mohamad, Karam Marc
Faculty of Sciences, University of Balamand, Al-Kourah, P.O. Box 100, Tripoli 1300, Lebanon.
Department of Cell Culture, Laboratory of Applied Biotechnology (LBA3B), Azm Center for Research in Biotechnology and Its Applications, EDST, Lebanese University, Tripoli 1300, Lebanon.
Toxins (Basel). 2025 Jan 1;17(1):18. doi: 10.3390/toxins17010018.
Hyperalgesia is a condition marked by an abnormal increase in pain sensitivity, often occurring in response to tissue injury, inflammation, or prolonged exposure to certain medications. Inflammatory mediators, such as cytokines IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α, play a central role in this process, amplifying pain perception. Developing effective treatments that address the underlying mechanisms of hyperalgesia is an active field of research. venom demonstrated potential immunomodulatory activity associated with cytokine release in vivo. Therefore, the aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of bee venom (BV) on pain sensitivity in a formalin-induced hyperalgesia mice model and to evaluate the potential role of cytokines associated with the nociception of pain. The hotplate test, used to measure pain latency, showed that hypersensitivity to pain was induced in formalin-injected male mice only, with no changes in females, suggesting a sex-based response to formalin. When applied, BV reduced pain sensitivity in males, suggesting pain relief potential. At the molecular level, BV was able to reduce pro-inflammatory interleukin IL-4 and cytokine IFN-γ, emphasizing its immunomodulatory potential. Interestingly, the venom restored anti-inflammatory IL-10 levels that were significantly decreased in hyperalgesia males. Together, these findings highlight the therapeutic potential for BV in managing inflammation and reducing pain, particularly hyperalgesia.
痛觉过敏是一种以疼痛敏感性异常增加为特征的病症，常因组织损伤、炎症或长期接触某些药物而发生。炎症介质，如细胞因子白细胞介素-1β、白细胞介素-6和肿瘤坏死因子-α，在这一过程中起核心作用，放大痛觉。开发针对痛觉过敏潜在机制的有效治疗方法是一个活跃的研究领域。毒液在体内表现出与细胞因子释放相关的潜在免疫调节活性。因此，本研究的目的是评估蜂毒（BV）对福尔马林诱导的痛觉过敏小鼠模型中疼痛敏感性的影响，并评估与疼痛伤害感受相关的细胞因子的潜在作用。用于测量疼痛潜伏期的热板试验表明，仅在注射福尔马林的雄性小鼠中诱导出对疼痛的超敏反应，雌性小鼠无变化，这表明对福尔马林存在基于性别的反应。应用BV时，可降低雄性小鼠的疼痛敏感性，表明其具有缓解疼痛的潜力。在分子水平上，BV能够降低促炎白细胞介素IL-4和细胞因子IFN-γ，强调了其免疫调节潜力。有趣的是，毒液恢复了痛觉过敏雄性小鼠中显著降低的抗炎白细胞介素-10水平。总之，这些发现突出了BV在管理炎症和减轻疼痛，特别是痛觉过敏方面的治疗潜力。
