Wasp venom is rich in bioactive substances, such as proteins, peptides, and small molecules. The venom significantly affects the mammalian cardiovascular, nervous, and immune systems, causing mild to severe symptoms following stings. It exhibits both procoagulant and anticoagulant activities, and significant research has identified its ability to modulate the mammalian coagulation system. Active substances that inhibit clotting were identified and purified through patient case reports and experimental studies. The study reviewed the findings on how wasp venom interacts with platelets and coagulation factors, such as fibrinogen and prothrombin, and demonstrated its dual influence on the coagulation cascade. This highlights the potential of the venom in therapeutic applications, especially as an anticoagulant, as evidenced by the inhibition of coagulation factors and prolonged clotting times after envenomation, suggesting its utility in developing novel anticoagulant therapies. This review focuses on the anticoagulant effects of social wasp venom, which is prevalent in sting incidents, summarizing the research and observations on its therapeutic potential. This emphasizes the significance of further studies to identify and utilize venom components as innovative anticoagulant treatments.

To identify viruses and compare their abundance levels in the venom glands of hymenopteran species, we conducted venom gland-specific transcriptome assemblies and analyses of 22 Aculeate bees and wasps and identified the RNA genomes of picornaviruses. Additionally, we investigated the expression patterns of viruses in the venom glands over time following capture. Honeybee-infecting viruses, including black queen cell virus (BQCV), deformed wing virus (DWV), and Israeli acute paralysis virus (IAPV), were highly expressed in the venom glands of Apis mellifera and social wasps. This finding suggests that the venoms of bees and wasps likely contain these viruses, which can be transmitted horizontally between species through their stinger usage. A. mellifera exhibited an increasing pattern of abundance levels for BQCV, DWV, IAPV, and Triatovirus, while the social wasp Vespa crabro showed increasing abundance levels of IAPV and Triatovirus over different capture periods. This suggests that the venom glands of honeybees and wasps may provide suitable conditions for active viral replication and may be an organ for virus accumulation and transmission. Some viral sequences clearly reflected the phylogeny of Aculeate species, implying host-specific virus evolution. On the other hand, other viruses exhibited unique evolutionary patterns of phylogeny, possibly caused by specific ecological interactions. Our study provides insights into the composition and evolutionary properties of viral genes in the venom glands of certain Aculeate bees and wasps, as well as the potential horizontal transmission of these viruses among bee and wasp species.

서양종 꿀벌(Apis mellifera L.)의 봉독은 예로부터 항염증과 탁월한 진통 효과로 인해 많은 질병 치료에 이용되어 왔다. 이러한 기능성은 멜리틴과 같은 봉독의 다양한 활성물질로부터 기인하며 약리기전에 대한 연구도 활발하다. 그러나 아직까지 봉독 내에 존재하는 생체아민에 대한 연구는 미흡하다. 본 연구에서는 초고성능액체크로마토그래피를 이용하여 봉독 내에 존재하는 생체아민인 putrescine의 존재 여부를 확인하였으며 이에 대한 밸리데이션을 수행하였다. 밸리데이션은 특이성, 정확성 및 정밀도를 평가하고 분석법을 검증하였다. Putrescine 분석의 선형성은 R≥0.99로 높은 선형성을 나타냈으며, 검출한계는 0.9 μg/ml, 정량한계는 2.7 μg/ml였으며, 회수율은 96.4%-99.9%로 나타났다. Intra-day 정밀도와 inter-day 정밀도의 상대표준편차(RSD) 값은 각각 0.16%-0.23%와 0.09%-0.36%였으며, 이는 RSD 값이 5%이하의 우수한 정밀도 를 보였다. 따라서 본 분석법은 putrescine 분석에 있어서 선형성, 검출한계, 정량한계 및 회수율을 모두 만족하는 것으로 확인되었다. 또한 봉독 내에 존재하는 putrescine의 함량을 조사해본 결과 3.1 ± 0.09 mg/g 존재하였으며 본 연구를 통해 봉독 내 putrescine 함량에 대한 기본적인 데이터를 제공하며, 이는 다양한 생물 활성에 대한 추가 연구에 유용할 것으로 사료된다.

To identify and compare the venom components and expression patterns of some bees/wasps, venom gland-specific transcriptome analyses were conducted for 14 Aculeate bees/wasps. Most of the allergens and pain-producing factors showed extremely high expression levels in social wasps, implying that social wasps have evolved to use venom to defend the colony against intruders. Acid phosphatase and tachykinin, which are known as allergens and neurotoxic peptides, were found with high frequencies in the venom glands of solitary wasps. This suggests that solitary wasps might use their venom for catching and preserving prey. In the venom glands of bumblebees, little or no transcripts of major allergens or pain producing factors were identified, implying that bumblebees venoms are relatively less toxic than those of social or solitary wasps. Taken together, the differential expression patterns of venom genes in some Aculeate bees/wasps implies that bees/wasps have unique groups of highly expressed venom components, which appear to have evolved in response to both ecological and behavioral influences.

Bee venom, which serves as a weapon to defend the colony from predator attacks, induces an immediate local inflammatory response that causes acute redness and swelling at the site of the sting. This venom-induced inflammation is a rapid anti-predatory defense strategy of the bee against vertebrate predators. Although acute inflammation by venom from venomous arthropods, including bees, is a typical response, how venom acutely elicits inflammatory responses remains unknown. Here, we identify a novel mechanism underlying acute inflammation and provide a rationale for the presence of superoxide dismutase (SOD3) in bee venom. In mouse models, paradoxically, SOD3 in bee venom (bvSOD3) acts as a reactive oxygen species (ROS)-based harm-inducing system to promote acute inflammation. Exogenous bvSOD3 rapidly induced overproduction of H2O2 through endogenously produced superoxide by venom components, such as melittin and phospholipase A2 (PLA2), which then upregulated the expression of proinflammatory genes and promoted the acute inflammatory response. Furthermore, a more severe noxious effect by bvSOD3 elevated a type 2 immune response, and bvSOD3 immunization protected against bvSOD3-mediated toxicity. Our findings that bvSOD3 promotes an acute inflammatory response and induces a protective immune response against inflammation may offer a new approach in venom therapy/immunotherapy.

To identify the venom components and their expression patterns of some Aculeata bees/wasps, venom gland-specific transcriptome analysis was conducted. FPKM values were normalized with the average of the transcription level of reference gene (a-tubulin). Common components in both solitary and social wasp venoms include hyaluronidase, phospholipase A2, metalloendopeptidase, etc. Although it has been expected that more diverse bioactive components with the functions of prey inactivation and physiology manipulation are present in solitary wasps, the information on venom compositions of solitary wasps obtained in this study was not sufficient to generalizae this notion. Nevertheless, some neurotoxic peptides (e.g., pompilidotoxin and dendrotoxin-like peptide) and proteins (e.g., insuline-like peptide binding protein) appear to be specific to solitary wasp venom. In contrast, several proteins, such as venom allergen 5 protein, venom acid phosphatase, and various phospholipases, appear to be relatively more abundant in social wasp venom. In the venom gland trancsriptome of bumblebees, major allergens or pain producing factors were barely identified, implying that bumblebee venoms are relatively less toxic than those of social or solitary wasps.

Honeybee (Apis mellifera) egg-yolk protein vitellogenin (Vg) plays roles in immunity, antioxidation, and life span beyond reproduction, but it also acts as an allergen Api m 12 in venom. Here we established antimicrobial and antioxidant roles of honeybee Vg in the body and venom. Using the cDNA encoding Vg identified from Asiatic honeybee (A. cerana) workers, recombinant A. cerana Vg (AcVg) protein of approximately 180 kDa was produced in baculovirus-infected insect cells. In A. cerana worker bees, AcVg was expressed in the fat body and venom gland and was present in the secreted venom. AcVg induced structural damage in microbial cell walls via binding to microbial surfaces and exhibited antimicrobial activity against bacteria and fungi. AcVg protected mammalian and insect cells against oxidative damage through direct shielding of cell membranes. Interestingly, AcVg exhibited DNA protection activity against reactive oxygen species (ROS). Furthermore, the transcript level of AcVg was upregulated in the fat body, but not in the venom gland, of worker bees with antimicrobial peptides and antioxidant enzymes in response to microbial infection and oxidative stress. Our data indicate that AcVg is involved in innate immunity upon infection and in a defense system against ROS, supporting a crucial role of honeybee Vg as an antimicrobial and antioxidant agent in the body and venom.

Bee venom contains a variety of peptide constituents, including low-molecular-weight protease inhibitors. While the putativelow-molecular-weight serine protease inhibitor Api m 6 containing a trypsin inhibitor-like cysteine-rich domain was identifiedfrom honeybee (Apis mellifera) venom, no anti-fibrinolytic or anti-microbial roles for this inhibitor have been elucidated.In this study, we identified an Asiatic honeybee (A. cerana) venom serine protease inhibitor (AcVSPI) that was shownto act as a microbial serine protease inhibitor and plasmin inhibitor. AcVSPI was found to consist of a trypsin inhibitor-likedomain that displays ten cysteine residues. Interestingly, the AcVSPI peptide sequence exhibited high similarity to the putativelow-molecular-weight serine protease inhibitor Api m 6, which suggests that AcVSPI is an allergen Api m 6-like peptide.Recombinant AcVSPI was expressed in baculovirus-infected insect cells, and it demonstrated inhibitory activity against trypsin,but not chymotrypsin. Additionally, AcVSPI has inhibitory effects against plasmin and microbial serine proteases; however,it does not have any detectable inhibitory effects on thrombin or elastase. Consistent with these inhibitory effects, AcVSPIinhibited the plasmin-mediated degradation of fibrin to fibrin degradation products. AcVSPI also bound to bacterial andfungal surfaces and exhibited anti-microbial activity against fungi as well as gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria. Thesefindings demonstrate the anti-fibrinolytic and anti-microbial roles of AcVSPI as a serine protease inhibitor.

Bee venom contains a variety of toxic components, including vitellogenin, which display various biological, toxicological,and pharmacological activities. However, the biological actions of vitellogenin, a venom protein in bee venom, remainlargely unknown. Here, we demonstrate that Asiatic honeybee (Apis cerana) venom vitellogenin (AcV-Vg) exhibits anti-oxidantand anti-microbial activities. AcV-Vg is expressed in the venom gland and is then secreted into venom. The recombinantAcV-Vg protein was produced in baculovirus-infected insect cells. We found that AcV-Vg reduced cytotoxicity and oxidativedamage against oxidative stress. Furthermore, AcV-Vg bound to microbial surfaces and induced structural damage in themicrobial cell walls, which, in turn, exhibited anti-microbial activity against bacteria and fungi. Together, our data demonstratedthat the bee venom protein AcV-Vg has multifunctional roles as an anti-oxidant and anti-microbial agent.

서양종 꿀벌의 일벌의 독을 채취하여 정제한 정제봉독에 대한 세균에서의 돌연변이 유발성 검색을 위하여 S. typhimurium의 히스티딘 요구성 균주 TA100, TA1535, TA98, 그리고 TA1537의 균주와 대장균 E. coli의 트립토 판 요구성 균주인 WP2 uvrA를 이용해 복귀돌연변이시험 을 실시하였다. 정제봉독은 부형제로 사용한 멸균생리식 염수에 용해되었으며 모든 농도군의 조제물에서 침전은 관찰되지 않았으며, 정제봉독 조제물을 top agar와 혼합할 때 모든 농도군에서 혼탁이나 침전이 관찰되지 않았다. 대사활성계 적용 TA100, TA1535, TA98 균주에 대해 0, 1.5, 5, 15, 50, 150 및 500 μg/plate의 범위를 설정하고 미 적용시엔 0, 0.15, 0.5, 1.5, 5, 15 및 50 μg/plate의 범위로 설 정하였다. TA1537과 WP2 uvrA균주에 대한 농도 범위은 대사활성계 적용시엔 0, 5, 15, 50, 150, 500 및 1,500를 미 적용시엔 0, 1.5, 5, 15, 50, 150 및 500 μg/plate 범위로 설정하여 시험을 수행하였다. 그 결과 모든 시험균주에서 대사활성계 적용 여부에 상관없이 정제봉독 처리군 의 평균 집락 수는 증가를 나타내지 않았으며, 양성판정 기준을 만족시키지 못하였다. 따라서, 정제봉독은 본 시험 조건 하에 사용한 시험 균주에 복귀돌연변이를 유발하지 않는 것으로 사료되었다.

Bee venom is a complex mixture of toxic components that induces immediate local inflammatory and allergic responses. However, the presence and role of superoxide dismutase (SOD) in bee venom have not been previously investigated. Here, we provide the first demonstration that bee venom contains Cu,Zn SOD (SOD3), a novel extracellular component that promotes local inflammation. Bee venom SOD3 was shown to be an oxidant, rather than an antioxidant, that induces the inflammation-signaling molecule H2O2 in vivo. H2O2 plays a pathological role by triggering an immediate local inflammatory response. Furthermore, bee venom SOD3 significantly induced the activation of proinflammatory mediators (TNF-α and COX-2) and cytokines (IL-1β and IL-6) via the overproduction of H2O2 in mice. Our data demonstrate that bee venom SOD3 induced H2O2, which drives an immediate local inflammatory response, indicating a novel mechanism underlying bee venom-induced local inflammation.

The belief that honey bee venom (BV) can be used to treat certain immune-related diseases, such as arthritis and rheumatic conditions, goes back to antiquity. A growing number of reports have demonstrated that BV contains at least 18 pharmacologically active components, including phospholipase A2 (PLA2). Recent research has shown that bee venom PLA2 (bvPLA2) induces protective immune responses against several diseases including asthma, Parkinson’s disease, and drug-induced organ inflammation. However, the antiviral properties of bvPLA2 have not been well investigated. Hence, we examined the potential inhibitory effects of bvPLA2 and its possible mechanism of action against a broad panel of pathogenic viruses in vitro. Pre-treatment with bvPLA2 significantly inhibited the replication of vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV), coxsackie virus (H3), enterovirus-71 (EV-71), herpes simplex virus (HSV) and Adenovirus (AdV) dramatically. However, bvPLA2 did not show antiviral activity against Influenza A virus (PR8) and Newcastle disease virus (NDV). Such inhibitory effects were explained by blocking of the attachment of the virus to cells upon bvPLA2 treatment. Additionally, we observed that Heparan sulfate (HS) has an inhibitory effect on the attachment of HSV to the cell surface dose dependently, which was inconsistent with bvPLA2 treatment. These findings suggest that bvPLA2 has an inhibitory effect on the replication of diverse viruses by blocking their attachment to the cell surface and could be a promising source of natural antiviral agents.

The lesser paper wasp, Parapolybia varia, belongs to large subfamily Polistinae and is distributed in Middle East, the Indo-Papuan region and East Asia. P. varia is known to become aggressive when disturbed for defending their colonies, resulting in fatal envenomation. Vespid chemotactic peptide (VCP) and vespakinin have recently been determined to be the top two genes most abundantly transcribed in venom glands of P. varia. To investigate the pharmacological and toxicological properties of VCP and vespakinin, their antitumor, antimicrobial, and cytotoxic activities were evaluated. VCP exhibited a significantly high antitumor activity against ovarian tumor cell SK-OV-3 at 100 M. VCP also showed higher hemolytic activity than vespakinin. Antimicrobial activity was only observed with VCP against yeast Candida albicans at 1 mM. Since VCP showed a relatively low hemolytic activity but a considerable level of antitumor activity, it has further merits to be exploited as a potential antitumor agent with reduced side effects on normal cells.

Bee venom contains a variety of peptide constituents that have various biological, toxicological, and pharmacological actions. However, the biological actions of secapin, a venom peptide in bee venom, remain largely unknown. Here, we provide the first evidence that the Asiatic honeybee (Apis cerana) secapin (AcSecapin-1) exhibits anti-fibrinolytic, anti-elastolytic, and anti-microbial activities. AcSecapin-1 functions as a serine protease inhibitor-like peptide that has inhibitory effects against plasmin, elastases, microbial serine proteases, trypsin, and chymotrypsin. Consistent with these functions, AcSecapin-1 inhibited the plasmin-mediated degradation of fibrin to fibrin degradation products, thus indicating the role of AcSecapin-1 as a clotting factor. AcSecapin-1 also inhibited both human neutrophil and porcine pancreatic elastases. Furthermore, AcSecapin-1 exhibited anti-microbial activity against fungi and Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. Taken together, our data demonstrated that AcSecapin-1 has a multifunctional role as an anti-fibrinolytic agent, an anti-elastolytic agent, and an anti-microbial peptide, and our data suggested novel functions for the biological actions of the bee venom peptide, secapin.

Vespa crabro is a cosmopolitan social wasp species whereas Vespa analis is commonly found in Asia. Both species are widely distributed in Korea and known to be aggressive when disturbed, resulting in frequent sting accidents. Although major venom components of well known Vespa wasps have been reported, no comparative transcriptomic analysis of venom gland between V. crabro and V. analis has been conducted to date. To investigate the differences in venom properties between these two wasps, total RNA was extracted from each venom gland and used for RNA-sequencing. A total of 31 venom-specific genes were identified in both venom gland transcriptomes but their expression profiles were different between V. crabro and V. analis. Venom allergen 5, premastoparan A and phospholipase A were the top three genes that were most prevalently transcribed in the venom gland of V. crabro, and their transcription rates were 902-, 112- and 4164-fold higher compared with V. analis, respectively, as judged by FPKM values. Their differential transcription profiles were confirmed by quantitative real-time PCR. In the venom gland of V. analis, however, premastoparan A was most abundantly transcribed gene, followed by calponin and tropomysin. In general, most venom-specific genes were more abundantly expressed in V. crabro but some genes exhibited higher transcription rates in V. analis, including muscle LIM protein, troponin, paramyosin, calponin, etc. Our findings suggest that V. crabro produce venom with much more enriched venom components, thereby with higher toxicity compared with V. analis.

The use of bee venom (Apis mellifera L., BV) occasionally causes side effects such as inflammation and allergic reactions in the recipients. Several case reports also suggested the treatment of BV has some limitations in its clinical uses, due to the occurrence of dermal necrosis and anaphylatic reactions. It is generally understood that bee venom allergy is mainly the result of its allergic component, phospholipase A2 (PLA2). The present study was aimed to generate PLA2-free bee venom (PBV) and evaluate its efficacy as skin care and cosmetic preparation, comparing with original bee venom (BV). Our results showed that both BV and PBV exhibited significant protective effects in UVB-irradiated human keratinocyte (HaCaT) and human dermal fibroblast (HDF) cells and they also induced type I collagen synthesis in UVB-irradiated HDF cells except BV at 3 μg/ml. Furthermore, BV and PBV showed the inhibition of UVB-stimulated matrix metalloproteinase-1 (MMP-1), a major collagen degrading enzyme in skin. However, BV, unlike PBV, exhibited strong cytotoxicities in skin cells (both HaCaT and HDF) at its working concentrations of anti-wrinkle effect. The underlying cell signaling mechanisms of anti-wrinkle effects of BV and PBV were demonstrated by the activation of ERK1/2, and p38. Conclusively, PBV appears to be the bee venom of choice with less cytotoxicity and higher efficacy on UVB-irradiated skin cells in comparison with original bee venom (BV). Therefore, PBV can better be used as a cosmetic ingredient exhibiting excellent anti-wrinkle effect against photoaging than original BV.

Inhibitor cysteine knot (ICK) peptides exhibit ion channel blocking, insecticidal, and antimicrobial activities, but currently, no functional roles for bee-derived ICK peptides have been identified. In this study, a bee (Apis cerana) ICK peptide (AcICK) that acts as an antifungal peptide and as an insecticidal venom toxin was identified. AcICK contains an ICK fold that is expressed in the epidermis, fat body, or venom gland and is present as a 6.6-kDa peptide in bee venom. Recombinant AcICK peptide (expressed in baculovirus-infected insect cells) bound directly to Beauveria bassiana and Fusarium graminearum, but not to Escherichia coli or Bacillus thuringiensis. Consistent with these findings, AcICK showed antifungal activity, indicating that AcICK acts as an antifungal peptide. Furthermore, AcICK expression is induced in the fat body and epidermis after injection with B. bassiana. These results provide insight into the role of AcICK during the innate immune response following fungal infection. Additionally, we show that AcICK has insecticidal activity. Our results demonstrate a functional role for AcICK in bees: AcICK acts as an antifungal peptide in innate immune reactions in the body and as an insecticidal toxin in venom. The finding that the AcICK peptide functions with different mechanisms of action in the body and in venom highlights the two-pronged strategy that is possible with the bee ICK peptide.