Bee venom cure for HIV rallies scientists, student beekeepers
A recent study conducted at the Washington University School of Medicine discovered that a compound found in bee venom has the capability of protecting cells against HIV. Using these results, the researchers hope ultimately to create a gel in order to prevent the spread of the disease.
Melittin, a toxin found in the venom of bees, is the targeted compound of the study and the one that has been found to help protect cells against HIV. The compound affects only infected cells and leaves healthy cells alone.
However, the drug is still years away from being ready for the market.
“We discovered it in cells and cultures, but we still have to package it up as some kind of gel,” research professor Joshua Hood said. “Now that we’ve done this study, we need to do preclinical testing on humans, and then after that we can move towards making the gel, so there are still a number of years left to go.”
“There’s a hope that this gel would serve as an extra augmentation—an extra drug out there that would be useful,” he added.
According to Hood, extraction of the compound will not harm bees.
“Bee venom has got a lot of different molecules, and the one we’re using is just one compound of it,” he said. “The compound is synthesized, so you’re not hurting any bees by obtaining it. This is just one of the membranes we tested, and there are many different ones in nature, but it just happened that this one did a good job.”
The uses of bee venom are well-known in beekeeping society, and the results of the study are likely not surprising to those who know of the healing advantages bees can provide, according to freshman Shannon Welsh, founder and president of the Bee School, the University’s beekeeping association.
“Bees have amazing medicinal uses, and they have for thousands of years,” she said. “Some doctors will go so far as saying that if all else fails, try bees. I know melittin has been used for arthritis and [multiple sclerosis], and it’s a unique protein because it basically gets rid of injured cell tissue.”
Welsh hopes that attention brought about by the study will help raise public awareness on the endangered state of bees.
“Bees are facing a large threat right now, and it’s not being heard the way it should be,” she said. “Bees are incredibly useful, and they have multiple advantages that can help to save human lives. They’re dying out, and if we don’t protect them, we won’t have any of their honey or melittin to use.”
Welsh added that the discovery of this additional use of bee venom will hopefully inspire more commercial beekeeping in order to protect the species.
The compound found in bee venom can not only be used to attack HIV-infected cells but also, potentially, cells infected with different viruses, such as hepatitis.
“It’s nice because the results of this study serve as a good concept that can be applied and used in a number of different studies, depending on what perspective you’re looking at it from,” Hood said.
Students have expressed optimism at the results of the study.
“I think it’s actually really cool and that this just shows there’s hope that with further research we could potentially cure and prevent such a harmful disease,” sophomore Sydney Kapp said.