Bee Venom Suppresses EGF-Induced Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition and Tumor Invasion in Lung Cancer Cells.

Abstract

Bee venom of Apis mellifera is a traditional medicine in Asia. It has been used with promoting results for the treatment of pain, rheumatoid, and cancer disease. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of bee venom on epidermal growth factor (EGF)-induced epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and determine possible signaling pathway affected in EGF-induced EMT in A549 cells. Bee venom inhibited EGF-induced F-actin reorganization and cell invasion, and suppressed EGF-induced EMT, processes associated with tumor metastasis in NSCLC. Bee venom enhanced the upregulation of E-cadherin and the downregulation of vimentin and inhibited EGF-induced ERK, JNK, FAK, and mTOR phosphorylation in A549 cells. However, the inhibition of JNK phosphorylation by bee venom was not related to the inhibitory effects of EMT. Furthermore, we found that bee venom suppressed the EMT-related transcription factors ZEB2 and Slug by blocking EGF-induced ERK, FAK and mTOR phosphorylation. Bee venom inhibits EGF-induced EMT by blocking the phosphorylation of ERK, FAK, and mTOR, resulting in the suppression of ZEB2 and Slug. These data suggest bee venom as a potential antimetastatic agent for NSCLC.

• Authors: Yun-Jeong Jeong, Yoon-Yub Park, Kwan-Kyu Park, Yung Hyun Choi, Cheorl-Ho Kim, Young-Chae Chang
• Journal: The American journal of Chinese medicine (Am J Chin Med) Vol. 47 Issue 8 Pg. 1869-1883 ( 2019) ISSN: 1793-6853 [Electronic] Singapore
• PMID: 31786944 (Publication Type: Journal Article)

Chemical References

• Bee Venoms
• SNAI1 protein, human
• Snail Family Transcription Factors
• ZEB2 protein, human
• Zinc Finger E-box Binding Homeobox 2
• Epidermal Growth Factor

Topics

• A549 Cells
• Bee Venoms (pharmacology)
• Epidermal Growth Factor (metabolism)
• Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition (drug effects)
• Humans
• Lung Neoplasms (genetics, metabolism, pathology, physiopathology)
• Neoplasm Invasiveness
• Snail Family Transcription Factors (genetics, metabolism)
• Zinc Finger E-box Binding Homeobox 2 (genetics, metabolism)