研究:蜂毒能殺死攻擊性乳腺癌細胞

研究:蜂毒能殺死攻擊性乳腺癌細胞

Researchers in Western Australia have discovered that venom from honeybees is a powerful anti-tumor agent, annihilating a particularly aggressive form of breast cancer cells at a staggering rate in mice subjects.

西澳大利亞的研究人員發(fā)現(xiàn)，蜜蜂的毒液是一種強大的抗腫瘤藥物，它以驚人的速度消滅了老鼠體內(nèi)一種特別具有攻擊性的乳腺癌細胞。

The potentially groundbreaking study, just published in the journal NPJ Precision Oncology, was undertaken by scientists at the Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research in Perth.

這項突破性的研究剛剛發(fā)表在《NPJ精密腫瘤學》雜志上，由珀斯的哈里·帕金斯醫(yī)學研究所的科學家進行。

“We found that the venom from honeybees is remarkably effective in killing some of these really aggressive breast cancer cells at concentrations that aren’t as damaging to normal cells,” said lead researcher Ciara Duffy.

首席研究員達菲說:“我們發(fā)現(xiàn)，蜜蜂的毒液在殺死一些非常具有攻擊性的乳腺癌細胞方面非常有效，其濃度不會對正常細胞造成傷害。”

Duffy told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation that she hoped the findings would hold promise for the 10-15% of women who suffer from triple-negative breast cancer — meaning patients whose disease lacks all three common cancer-drug receptors, which includes the hormones estrogen and progesterone, as well as the human epidermal growth factor, called HER2, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention explain. Typically, these receptors might aid doctors’ fight against tumor growth through the use of targeted therapies, which help to spare patients from the full-body ravages of chemotherapy. The five-year relative survival rate for the most progressive cases can be as little as 11%, according to the American Cancer Society.

達菲告訴澳大利亞廣播公司，她希望這項發(fā)現(xiàn)能為10-15%患有三重陰性乳腺癌的女性帶來希望——那些患有乳腺癌的患者缺乏三種常見的癌癥藥物受體，包括雌激素和孕酮，以及人表皮生長因子，美國疾病控制和預防中心解釋稱為HER2。通常情況下，這些受體可能通過靶向治療幫助醫(yī)生對抗腫瘤生長，這有助于使患者免受化療的全身損害。根據(jù)美國癌癥協(xié)會的數(shù)據(jù)，大多數(shù)進展期病例的5年相對生存率只有11%。

However, the new study has revealed a precise ratio of venom that can kill 100% of triple-negative, as well as HER2-positive, breast cancer cells.

然而，這項新的研究揭示了一種精確比例的毒液可以100%殺死三陰性和her2陽性的乳腺癌細胞。

These aren’t just any bees, the Australian researchers claim. Perth bees are “some of the healthiest in the world,” said Duffy, who supplemented the local hive’s population with bees from Ireland and England. To take their nectar, the bees are induced to sleep by carbon dioxide, then preserved on ice, after which the venom is extracted and injected directly into the tumor.

澳大利亞研究人員稱，這些蜜蜂并不是普通的蜜蜂。達菲說，珀斯的蜜蜂是“世界上最健康的蜜蜂之一”，他從愛爾蘭和英格蘭引進了更多的蜜蜂來補充當?shù)胤淙旱臄?shù)量。為了攝取花蜜，蜜蜂被二氧化碳誘導進入睡眠狀態(tài)，然后保存在冰中，之后將毒液提取并直接注射到腫瘤中。

But rather than suggesting a large-scale harvest of honeybees’ venom, Duffy’s team discovered that a known chemical analog of a peptide in the venom called melittin — the component, in fact, that’s responsible for the pain incurred just after a bee sting — had the same anti-cancer effects.

但達菲的研究小組并不有建議大規(guī)模采集蜜蜂的毒液，而是發(fā)現(xiàn)毒液中一種已知的化學類似物蜂毒肽(類似于蜂毒中的一種肽，這種物質(zhì)被稱為“蜂毒素”，實際上，它是導致被蜜蜂蟄傷后產(chǎn)生疼痛的物質(zhì))具有同樣的抗癌效果。

“What melittin does is it actually enters the surface, or the plasma membrane, and forms holes or pores and it just causes the cell to die,” said Duffy, who further found that the molecule may also facilitate the impact of chemotherapy drugs, such as docetaxel. When combined, she explained, the melittin would first puncture the cancer membrane, permitting chemo better entry into the malignant mass.

達菲說：“蜂毒肽的作用是它實際上進入細胞表面，或者質(zhì)膜，形成洞或孔，導致細胞死亡，”他進一步發(fā)現(xiàn)，這種分子也可能促進化療藥物，如多西他賽的影響。她解釋說，當兩者結(jié)合時，蜂毒肽會首先刺穿癌細胞膜，讓化療更好地進入惡性腫瘤。

“We found it was interfering with the main messaging or cancer-signaling pathways that are fundamental for the growth and replication of cancer cells,” she said.

她說：“我們發(fā)現(xiàn)它干擾了癌細胞生長和復制的主要信息傳遞或癌癥信號傳導途徑。”。

Globally, honeybees have long been under threat, despite efforts to boost their populations. Nevertheless, bee products have been used for cosmetic and medicinal purposes for thousands of years thanks to their anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, anti-viral and antioxidant properties.

在全球范圍內(nèi)，盡管人們努力增加蜜蜂的數(shù)量，但它們長期以來一直受到威脅。盡管如此，由于蜜蜂產(chǎn)品具有抗炎、抗菌、抗真菌、抗病毒和抗氧化等特性，數(shù)千年來一直被用于化妝品和醫(yī)藥用途。

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported that Duffy was reticent to call it a “breakthrough.”

澳大利亞廣播公司(Australian Broadcasting Corporation)報道稱，達菲不愿稱這次研究為“突破”。

“There’s a long way to go in terms of how we would deliver it in the body and, you know, looking at toxicities and maximum tolerated doses before it ever went further,” she said.

她說：“在我們?nèi)绾螌⑵渌腿塍w內(nèi)，以及在進一步研究毒性和最大耐受劑量方面還有很長的路要走。”。