Exp Mol Med.  2016 Jul;48(7):e244. 10.1038/emm.2016.49.

Bee venom phospholipase A2 ameliorates motor dysfunction and modulates microglia activation in Parkinson's disease alpha-synuclein transgenic mice

• Ye M
• Chung HS
• Lee C
• Song JH
• Shim I
• Kim YS
• Bae H

• KMID: 2361531
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1038/emm.2016.49

Abstract

α-Synuclein (α-Syn) has a critical role in microglia-mediated neuroinflammation, which leads to the development of Parkinson's disease (PD). Recent studies have shown that bee venom (BV) has beneficial effects on PD symptoms in human patients or 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) toxin-induced PD mice. This study investigated whether treatment with BV-derived phospholipase A2 (bvPLA2) would improve the motor dysfunction and pathological features of PD in human A53T α-Syn mutant transgenic (A53T Tg) mice. The motor dysfunction of A53T Tg mice was assessed using the pole test. The levels of α-Syn, microglia and the M1/M2 phenotype in the spinal cord were evaluated by immunofluorescence. bvPLA2 treatment significantly ameliorated motor dysfunction in A53T Tg mice. In addition, bvPLA2 significantly reduced the expression of α-Syn, the activation and numbers of microglia, and the ratio of M1/M2 in A53T Tg mice. These results suggest that bvPLA2 could be a promising treatment option for PD.

MeSH Terms

1-Methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine
alpha-Synuclein*
Animals
Bee Venoms*
Bees*
Fluorescent Antibody Technique
Humans
Mice
Mice, Transgenic*
Microglia*
Parkinson Disease*
Phenotype
Phospholipases A2*
Phospholipases*
Spinal Cord
1-Methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine
Bee Venoms
Phospholipases
Phospholipases A2
alpha-Synuclein