Honey-bee venom becomes new weapon against cancer

Melittin in bee venom kills cancer cells in less than an hour. This could lead to aggressive new breast cancer treatments.

A bee sting can kill people that are allergic to bee venom, but the venom can also save lives, according to experiments made by scientists from the Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research in Western Australia. The scientists researched whether honey-bee venom can be used against a particularly aggressive type of breast cancer known as triple negative. This is characterised by sick cells lacking characteristic proteins on their surfaces that other cancer cells have, proteins which are targeted by most types of cancer drugs. Hence this cancer type is difficult to treat.

The scientists injected the bee venom into lab-grown breast cancer tumours. The toxin killed all the cancer cells in less than an hour. The scientists subsequently repeated the experiment successfully on cancer tumours inserted into mice, and importantly established the dose for which healthy cells around the tumour were not harmed.

The active component of the bee venom is known as melittin, and it attacks cancer cells in several ways. Firstly it pokes holes in the cells’ surfaces, killing many of them in the process. Then once the drug is inside the cells, it disturbs chemical signalling pathways, so the cancer cells can no longer divide.

Melittin’s ability to poke holes in cancer cells inspired the scientists to test the ingredient in combination with chemo drugs that cannot enter cells, and the effect was improved considerably.

So it seems that bee venom may work both as a cancer drug in itself and to improve the effects of other treatments.

Honey bees use their venom when they sting, but it also works inside the bee’s body as a protection against bacteria and viruses.

MELITTIN Approximately half of the bee venom consists of melittin, which experiments in Western Australia have proven can kill aggressive breast cancer cells.