Page 90 - Book of Abstracts

5 International Scientific Online Conference DOI: https://doi.org/10.15414/2021.9788055224015

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POSSIBLE THERAPEUTIC PROPERTIES OF THE COMPONENTS OF BEE VENOM
Olga Kyrylenko , Rui Seabra Ferreira Jr
2
1
1 PHEI Kyiv Medical University, Kyiv, Ukraine; E-mail.: o.kyrylenko@kmu.edu.ua
2 Center for Study of Venoms and Venomous Animals, Botucatu Medical School,
São Paulo State University, Botucatu, Brazil
Human health is currently threatened by diseases that cannot be treated with existing
drugs. Moreover, they often result from the usage of common drugs and disinfectants. The
causes of outbreaks of such diseases are microorganisms resistant to antibiotics (CRE, C.
difficile, MRSA, N. gonorrhoeae, MDR/XDR tuberculosis) or disinfectants, including
disinfectants of drinking water (Cryptosporidium spp, viruses), or disinfectant-resistant toxins
of microorganisms (Shiga toxin of E. coli O157:H7 or O104:H4), also viruses, including
emerging, such as SARS-CoV-2. Since effective anti-viral drugs have never been found.
Therefore, novel types of antibiotics need, as well as disinfectants. Both enzymes (proteases,
phosphatases, etc.) and protease inhibitors capable of cleaving / inhibiting vital pathogenic
proteins and nucleic acids may be useful. Animal venoms are offered as a source of such
enzymes, potential novel drugs. Bee venom (BV) is one of the best candidates because it is not
directed against mammals, but against bee enemies, such as arthropods and parasites, as well
as against bacteria, protozoa, viruses, fungi, from which the bee protects itself by sprinkling its
venom. Our study aimed to find the BV components responsible for such a broad antimicrobial
activity of bee venom, for therapeutic purposes and as disinfectants.
We divided the bee venom into fractions by chromatography (HPLC) and analyzed the
fractions of the chromatographic peaks in the polyacrylamide gel to determine the fractions
containing proteins (enzymes) and their biological activity in human blood, mainly their effect
on blood clotting and prevention of such coagulation, which is often affected by the infection.
In addition, we interpreted the found proteins (enzymes) using mass spectrometry.
We obtained interesting data on protease as well as a protease inhibitor, which were
previously found in bee venom, but have not yet been well studied. Our data suggest that both
BV protease and protease inhibitor may be more potent than many viral, bacterial, or parasitic
proteases and protease inhibitors, and therefore might be used to destroy them or their
activity; for example, to cleave (protease) or inhibit (protease inhibitor) the proteases of
coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, known to be critical for viral spread. Due to the same ability, they also
might be potent disinfectants. In addition, we observed a significant decrease of blood
coagulation via inhibition of tissue factor by BV protease inhibitor. This suggests that BV
protease inhibitor can inhibit the extrinsic pathway of blood coagulation, which is known to
activate as a result of tissue damage along with the release of cytokines leading to thrombosis.
Such mechanism of thrombosis has also been shown in Covid-19 pathophysiology. We also
observed that bee venom Phospholipase, already used in human therapy but potentially toxic
to human cells, is included in a complex with other proteins that might prevent its toxicity.
Keywords: emerging diseases, novel drugs, bee venom protease inhibitor, blood coagulation.

5 International Scientific Conference Agrobiodiversity for Improving the Nutrition, Health, Quality of Life and |89
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Spiritual Human Development
November 3 2021
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