title: Bee Venom Protects against Rotenone-Induced Cell Death in NSC34 Motor Neuron Cells.
abstract: Rotenone, an inhibitor of mitochondrial complex I of the mitochondrial respiratory chain, is known to elevate mitochondrial reactive oxygen species and induce apoptosis via activation of the caspase-3 pathway. Bee venom (BV) extracted from honey bees has been widely used in oriental medicine and contains melittin, apamin, adolapin, mast cell-degranulating peptide, and phospholipase A₂. In this study, we tested the effects of BV on neuronal cell death by examining rotenone-induced mitochondrial dysfunction. NSC34 motor neuron cells were pretreated with 2.5 μg/mL BV and stimulated with 10 μM rotenone to induce cell toxicity. We assessed cell death by Western blotting using specific antibodies, such as phospho-ERK1/2, phospho-JNK, and cleaved capase-3 and performed an MTT assay for evaluation of cell death and mitochondria staining. Pretreatment with 2.5 μg/mL BV had a neuroprotective effect against 10 μM rotenone-induced cell death in NSC34 motor neuron cells. Pre-treatment with BV significantly enhanced cell viability and ameliorated mitochondrial impairment in rotenone-treated cellular model. Moreover, BV treatment inhibited the activation of JNK signaling and cleaved caspase-3 related to cell death and increased ERK phosphorylation involved in cell survival in rotenone-treated NSC34 motor neuron cells. Taken together, we suggest that BV treatment can be useful for protection of neurons against oxidative stress or neurotoxin-induced cell death.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Research, Korea Institute of Oriental Medicine, 483 Expo-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 305-811, Korea. syzzim84@gmail.com.
authors.forename: So Young
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Jung
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Research, Korea Institute of Oriental Medicine, 483 Expo-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 305-811, Korea. neurokangwoo@kaist.ac.kr.
authors.forename: Kang-Woo
authors.initials: KW
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Executive Director of R&D, Korea Institute of Oriental Medicine, 483 Expo-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 305-811, Korea. smchoi@kiom.re.kr.
authors.forename: Sun-Mi
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Research, Korea Institute of Oriental Medicine, 483 Expo-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 305-811, Korea. yangej@kiom.re.kr.
authors.forename: Eun Jin
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Yang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects*; D001514:Bee Venoms / Q000494:pharmacology*; D053148:Caspase 3 / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D002460:Cell Line; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects; D051379:Mice; D008928:Mitochondria / Q000187:drug effects; D009046:Motor Neurons / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects*; D018696:Neuroprotective Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D009498:Neurotoxins / Q000633:toxicity; D018384:Oxidative Stress / Q000187:drug effects; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species / Q000378:metabolism; D012402:Rotenone / Q000633:toxicity*
chemical_list: D001514:Bee Venoms; D018696:Neuroprotective Agents; D009498:Neurotoxins; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species; D012402:Rotenone; C505409:Casp3 protein, mouse; D053148:Caspase 3
keywords: NSC34 motor neuron cell; bee venom (BV); cleaved caspase-3; phospho-JNK; rotenone