|
KMID : 0613820070170111596
|
|
Journal of Life Science
2007 Volume.17 No. 11 p.1596 ~ p.1600
|
|
|
Induction of Apoptosis by Bee Venom in A549 Human Lung Epithelial Cancer Cells through Modulation of Bcl-2 and IAP Family and Activation of Caspases
|
|
Woo Hyun-Joo
Kim Hyun-Joong
Hong Su-Hyun
Hong Sang-Hoon
Choi Byung-Tae
Lee Yong-Tae
Park Dong-Il
Choi Yung-Hyun
|
|
|
Abstract
|
|
|
|
Bee venom is used to treat inflammatory diseases in Korean traditional medicine and has been known to inhibit proliferation and induce apoptosis in cancer cells. However, the molecular mechanisms involved in bee venom-induced apoptosis are still uncharacterized in human lung cancer cells. In the present study, we investigated the effects of bee venom on the apoptosis of A549 human lung epithelial cancer cells. Treatment of bee venom inhibited the cell viability and induced apoptosis in a concentration-dependent manner as measured by hemocytometer counts, fluorescence microscopy and flow cytometry analysis. Bee venom-induced apoptosis in A549 cells was associated with a marked inhibition of anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 expression without significant changes in the levels of Bax and Bcl-xL. Bee venom treatment also inhibited the levels of IAP family members such as cIAP-1 and cIAP-2 and induced the proteolytic activation of caspase-3 and caspase-9. Although further studies are needed, the present results suggest that apoptotic signals evoked by bee vemon in A549 cancer cells may converge caspases activation through a down-regulation of Bcl-2 rather than an up-regulation of Bax. These findings provide important insights into the possible molecular mechanisms of the anti-cancer activity of bee vemon in human cancer cells.
|
|
|
KEYWORD
|
|
|
Bee venom, A549, apoptosis, Bcl-2, caspase
|
|
|
FullTexts / Linksout information
|
|
|
|
|
|
Listed journal information
|
|
|