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Chen J, Guan SM, Sun W, Fu H. Melittin, the Major Pain-Producing Substance of Bee Venom. Neurosci Bull 2016; 32:265-72. [PMID: 26983715 DOI: 10.1007/s12264-016-0024-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 104] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2015] [Accepted: 01/25/2016] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Melittin is a basic 26-amino-acid polypeptide that constitutes 40-60% of dry honeybee (Apis mellifera) venom. Although much is known about its strong surface activity on lipid membranes, less is known about its pain-producing effects in the nervous system. In this review, we provide lines of accumulating evidence to support the hypothesis that melittin is the major pain-producing substance of bee venom. At the psychophysical and behavioral levels, subcutaneous injection of melittin causes tonic pain sensation and pain-related behaviors in both humans and animals. At the cellular level, melittin activates primary nociceptor cells through direct and indirect effects. On one hand, melittin can selectively open thermal nociceptor transient receptor potential vanilloid receptor channels via phospholipase A2-lipoxygenase/cyclooxygenase metabolites, leading to depolarization of primary nociceptor cells. On the other hand, algogens and inflammatory/pro-inflammatory mediators released from the tissue matrix by melittin's pore-forming effects can activate primary nociceptor cells through both ligand-gated receptor channels and the G-protein-coupled receptor-mediated opening of transient receptor potential canonical channels. Moreover, subcutaneous melittin up-regulates Nav1.8 and Nav1.9 subunits, resulting in the enhancement of tetrodotoxin-resistant Na(+) currents and the generation of long-term action potential firing. These nociceptive responses in the periphery finally activate and sensitize the spinal dorsal horn pain-signaling neurons, resulting in spontaneous nociceptive paw flinches and pain hypersensitivity to thermal and mechanical stimuli. Taken together, it is concluded that melittin is the major pain-producing substance of bee venom, by which peripheral persistent pain and hyperalgesia (or allodynia), primary nociceptive neuronal sensitization, and CNS synaptic plasticity (or metaplasticity) can be readily induced and the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying naturally-occurring venomous biotoxins can be experimentally unraveled.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jun Chen
- Institute for Biomedical Sciences of Pain, Tangdu Hospital, The Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, 710038, China.
- Key Laboratory of Brain Stress and Behavior, PLA, Xi'an, 710038, China.
- Beijing Institute for Brain Disorders, Beijing, 100069, China.
| | - Su-Min Guan
- School of Stomatology, The Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, 710032, China
| | - Wei Sun
- Institute for Biomedical Sciences of Pain, Tangdu Hospital, The Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, 710038, China
- Key Laboratory of Brain Stress and Behavior, PLA, Xi'an, 710038, China
| | - Han Fu
- Institute for Biomedical Sciences of Pain, Tangdu Hospital, The Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, 710038, China
- Key Laboratory of Brain Stress and Behavior, PLA, Xi'an, 710038, China
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Wang Y, Lu YF, Li CL, Sun W, Li Z, Wang RR, He T, Yang F, Yang Y, Wang XL, Guan SM, Chen J. Involvement of Rac1 signalling pathway in the development and maintenance of acute inflammatory pain induced by bee venom injection. Br J Pharmacol 2016; 173:937-50. [PMID: 26700000 DOI: 10.1111/bph.13413] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/11/2015] [Revised: 12/10/2015] [Accepted: 12/12/2015] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE The Rho GTPase, Rac1, is involved in the pathogenesis of neuropathic pain induced by malformation of dendritic spines in the spinal dorsal horn (sDH) neurons. In the present study, the contribution of spinal Rac1 to peripheral inflammatory pain was studied. EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH Effects of s.c. bee venom (BV) injection on cellular localization of Rac1 in the rat sDH was determined with double labelling immunofluorescence. Activation of Rac1 and its downstream effector p21-activated kinase (PAK), ERKs and p38 MAPK in inflammatory pain states was evaluated with a pull-down assay and Western blotting. The preventive and therapeutic analgesic effects of intrathecal administration of NSC23766, a selective inhibitor of Rac1, on BV-induced spontaneous nociception and pain hypersensitivity were investigated. KEY RESULTS Rac1 labelling was mainly localized within neurons in both the superficial and deep layers of the sDH in rats of naïve, vehicle-treated and inflamed (BV injected) groups. GTP-Rac1-PAK and ERKs/p38 were activated following s.c. BV injection. Post-treatment with intrathecal NSC23766 significantly inhibited GTP-Rac1 activity and phosphorylation of Rac1-PAK, ERKs and p38 MAPK in the sDH. Both pre-treatment and post-treatment with intrathecal NSC23766 dose-dependently attenuated the paw flinches, primary thermal and mechanical hyperalgesia and the mirror-image thermal hyperalgesia induced by BV injection, but without affecting the baseline pain sensitivity and motor coordination. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS The spinal GTP-Rac1-PAK-ERK/p38MAPK signalling pathway is involved in both the development and maintenance of peripheral inflammatory pain and can be used as a potential molecular target for developing a novel therapeutic strategy for clinical pain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yan Wang
- Institute for Biomedical Sciences of Pain, Tangdu Hospital, The Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, 710038, China.,Institute for Functional Brain Disorders, Tangdu Hospital, The Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, 710038, China.,Key Laboratory of Brain Stress and Behavior, PLA, Xi'an, 710038, China
| | - Yun-Fei Lu
- Institute for Biomedical Sciences of Pain, Tangdu Hospital, The Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, 710038, China.,Institute for Functional Brain Disorders, Tangdu Hospital, The Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, 710038, China.,Key Laboratory of Brain Stress and Behavior, PLA, Xi'an, 710038, China
| | - Chun-Li Li
- Institute for Biomedical Sciences of Pain, Tangdu Hospital, The Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, 710038, China.,Institute for Functional Brain Disorders, Tangdu Hospital, The Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, 710038, China.,Key Laboratory of Brain Stress and Behavior, PLA, Xi'an, 710038, China
| | - Wei Sun
- Institute for Biomedical Sciences of Pain, Tangdu Hospital, The Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, 710038, China.,Institute for Functional Brain Disorders, Tangdu Hospital, The Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, 710038, China.,Key Laboratory of Brain Stress and Behavior, PLA, Xi'an, 710038, China
| | - Zhen Li
- Institute for Biomedical Sciences of Pain, Tangdu Hospital, The Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, 710038, China.,Institute for Functional Brain Disorders, Tangdu Hospital, The Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, 710038, China.,Key Laboratory of Brain Stress and Behavior, PLA, Xi'an, 710038, China
| | - Rui-Rui Wang
- Institute for Biomedical Sciences of Pain, Tangdu Hospital, The Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, 710038, China.,Institute for Functional Brain Disorders, Tangdu Hospital, The Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, 710038, China.,Key Laboratory of Brain Stress and Behavior, PLA, Xi'an, 710038, China
| | - Ting He
- Institute for Biomedical Sciences of Pain, Tangdu Hospital, The Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, 710038, China.,Institute for Functional Brain Disorders, Tangdu Hospital, The Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, 710038, China.,Key Laboratory of Brain Stress and Behavior, PLA, Xi'an, 710038, China
| | - Fan Yang
- Institute for Biomedical Sciences of Pain, Tangdu Hospital, The Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, 710038, China.,Institute for Functional Brain Disorders, Tangdu Hospital, The Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, 710038, China.,Key Laboratory of Brain Stress and Behavior, PLA, Xi'an, 710038, China
| | - Yan Yang
- Institute for Biomedical Sciences of Pain, Tangdu Hospital, The Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, 710038, China.,Institute for Functional Brain Disorders, Tangdu Hospital, The Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, 710038, China.,Key Laboratory of Brain Stress and Behavior, PLA, Xi'an, 710038, China
| | - Xiao-Liang Wang
- Institute for Biomedical Sciences of Pain, Tangdu Hospital, The Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, 710038, China.,Institute for Functional Brain Disorders, Tangdu Hospital, The Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, 710038, China.,Key Laboratory of Brain Stress and Behavior, PLA, Xi'an, 710038, China
| | - Su-Min Guan
- School of Stomatology, The Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, 710032, China
| | - Jun Chen
- Institute for Biomedical Sciences of Pain, Tangdu Hospital, The Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, 710038, China.,Institute for Functional Brain Disorders, Tangdu Hospital, The Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, 710038, China.,Key Laboratory of Brain Stress and Behavior, PLA, Xi'an, 710038, China.,Beijing Institute for Brain Disorders, Beijing, 100069, China
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Activation of anterior cingulate cortex produces inhibitory effects on noxious mechanical and electrical stimuli-evoked responses in rat spinal WDR neurons. Eur J Pain 2011; 15:895-9. [PMID: 21600816 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejpain.2011.04.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/31/2010] [Revised: 03/25/2011] [Accepted: 04/05/2011] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
In present study, in vivo electrophysiological techniques were applied to examine the effects of anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) activation on mechanical and electrical stimuli-evoked responses in rat spinal cord wide-dynamic-range (WDR) neurons. We found that bilateral ACC electrical stimulation (100Hz, 20V, 20s) had different effects on neuronal responses to brush, pressure and pinch stimuli (10s). The brush-evoked neuronal responses at baseline, post 1min and post 5min were 60.8±15.0, 59.2±15.4 and 60.0±19.3 spikes/10s, respectively (n=10, P>0.05 vs. baseline). The pressure-evoked neuronal responses at baseline, post 1min and post 5min were 77.8±11.9, 38.0±7.8 and 45.8±7.6 spikes/10s, respectively (n=10, P<0.05 vs. baseline). The pinch-evoked neuronal responses at baseline, post 1min and post 5min were 137.6±16.7, 62.6±17.5 and 68.8±15.0 spikes/10s, respectively (n=10, P<0.05 vs. baseline). Furthermore, ACC stimulation generated distinct effects on the different components of wind-up response. The total numbers of late response (LR) and after-discharge (AD), but not early response (ER), significantly decreased. Collectively, the present study demonstrated that short-term ACC activation could generate long-term inhibitory effects on the responses of WDR neurons to noxious mechanical (pressure and pinch) and electrical stimuli. The results indicated that ACC activation could negatively regulate noxious information ascending from spinal cord with long-term effect, providing potential neuronal substrate for the modulation of ACC activation on nociception.
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Chen J, Lariviere WR. The nociceptive and anti-nociceptive effects of bee venom injection and therapy: a double-edged sword. Prog Neurobiol 2010; 92:151-83. [PMID: 20558236 DOI: 10.1016/j.pneurobio.2010.06.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 115] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/27/2009] [Revised: 03/31/2010] [Accepted: 06/08/2010] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
Bee venom injection as a therapy, like many other complementary and alternative medicine approaches, has been used for thousands of years to attempt to alleviate a range of diseases including arthritis. More recently, additional theraupeutic goals have been added to the list of diseases making this a critical time to evaluate the evidence for the beneficial and adverse effects of bee venom injection. Although reports of pain reduction (analgesic and antinociceptive) and anti-inflammatory effects of bee venom injection are accumulating in the literature, it is common knowledge that bee venom stings are painful and produce inflammation. In addition, a significant number of studies have been performed in the past decade highlighting that injection of bee venom and components of bee venom produce significant signs of pain or nociception, inflammation and many effects at multiple levels of immediate, acute and prolonged pain processes. This report reviews the extensive new data regarding the deleterious effects of bee venom injection in people and animals, our current understanding of the responsible underlying mechanisms and critical venom components, and provides a critical evaluation of reports of the beneficial effects of bee venom injection in people and animals and the proposed underlying mechanisms. Although further studies are required to make firm conclusions, therapeutic bee venom injection may be beneficial for some patients, but may also be harmful. This report highlights key patterns of results, critical shortcomings, and essential areas requiring further study.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jun Chen
- Institute for Biomedical Sciences of Pain and Institute for Functional Brain Disorders, Tangdu Hospital, The Fourth Military Medical University, 1 Xinsi Road, Baqiao District, Xi'an 710038, PR China.
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