Immunological effects of honey bee (Apis mellifera) venom using BALB/c mice

Honey bee venom at concentrations up to 50 micrograms/ml was not toxic in vitro for unstimulated murine splenic lymphocytes, as assayed by tritiated thymidine incorporation. However, venom concentrations greater than 6 micrograms/ml significantly (P less than 0.01) inhibited concanavalin A (con A) simulation of murine lymphocytes. In contrast to this finding, the splenic lymphocytes from mice receiving 4 s.c. injections of honey been venom on alternate days were significantly (P less than 0.01) enhanced in their proliferative response to con A compared to a sham-injected group of mice. Mice injected with the venom prior to and following an injection of sheep red blood cells produced significantly more direct IgM plaques (P less than 0.02) than the sham-injected group. In this study both suppression and enhancement of immune reactivity was seen using honey bee venom when assayed on the splenic lymphocytes of BALB/c mice.