Effect of honey bee venom on Lewis rats with experimental allergic encephalomyelitis as regards to changes of GABA and glutamate

Abstract

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a progressive, neurodegenerative disease of central nervous system (CNS). Experimental allergic encephalomyelitis (EAE) is a widely accepted animal model for MS. Honey bee venom (Apis mellifera) contains a variety of different low and high molecular weight peptides and proteins including melittin, apamin, adolapin, mast cell degranulating peptide and phospholipase A2. Bee venom (BV) also could exert anti- inflammatory and antinociceptive effects on the inflammatory reactions. Glotamic acid and γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) are among neurotransmitters of central nervous system and participated in excitatory and inhibitory processes. In EAE the amount of GABA reduces and the level of glutamate will increase. Tracing them in brain could useful in monitoring the influences of drugs. In this research, hematoxylin and eosin methods for inflammation, ELISA to study tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) and HPLC, to study the amount of GABA and glutamate were used for assessment. In this study, we showed that in EAE level of GABA has reduced and the amount of glutamate has increased and bee venom decreases pathological changes and the level of serum TNF-α, and level of glutamate and increases the level of GABA in EAE rats induced by spinal cord of guinea pig.