Dose-Dependent Effects of Bee Venom (Apis mellifera anatoliaca) on Cell Viability and Migration in A549 Lung Adenocarcinoma Cells

Abstract

Objective: Lung cancer remains one of the leading causes of cancer-related mortality worldwide, and the emergence of resistance to existing therapies together with severe adverse effects necessitates the investigation of novel therapeutic agents. In this study, the effects of bee venom (BV) derived from Apis mellifera anatoliaca on the non-small cell lung cancer cell line A549 were evaluated with respect to cell viability and cell migration.
Methods and Results: Cell viability was assessed using the MTT assay following treatment with BV at concentrations of 8, 16, and 32 ng/mL. At the sixth hour, statistically significant differences were detected among the experimental groups (p < 0.0001). While no significant difference was observed between the control group and the 8 ng/mL group (p = 0.83), treatment with 16 and 32 ng/mL BV resulted in a significant decrease in cell viability (p < 0.0001 for both). Time-course analyses performed using lower concentrations (0.5–12 ng/mL) revealed no statistically significant differences at the 6th, 18th, or 48th hours (p > 0.05); however, a limited but significant difference was observed at the 24th hour (p = 0.02). According to two-way repeated-measures ANOVA, BV concentration did not exert a significant main effect on cell viability (F(7,16) = 0.53; p = 0.80), whereas the time factor showed a strong and significant effect (F(3,41,54,52) = 146.3; p < 0.0001). Cell migration was evaluated using a wound-healing assay, which revealed a dose-dependent biphasic effect. Migration increased at lower concentrations (4 ng/mL: 91.31 ± 1.76%; 8 ng/mL: 85.83 ± 4.17%) compared with the control group (70.26 ± 7.96%), whereas higher concentrations significantly suppressed migration (12 ng/mL: 58.16 ± 6.42%; 32 ng/mL: 54.53 ± 8.05%; p < 0.05).
Conclusions: These findings indicate that BV modulates cell migration in A549 cells without inducing pronounced cytotoxicity and may exhibit potential antimetastatic properties at higher concentrations.

Keywords

• Apis mellifera anatoliaca
• A549
• Non-small cell lung cancer
• Cell migration
• Bee venom

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