“Bee venom contains a potent toxin called melittin that can poke holes in the protective envelope…”
Posted on Tuesday, March 12th, 2013 at 13:43![](https://cjmoseley.co.uk/wp-content/plugins/send-to-kindle/media/black-15.png)
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Bee venom contains a potent toxin called melittin that can poke holes in the protective envelope that surrounds HIV, and other viruses. Large amounts of free melittin can cause a lot of damage. Indeed, in addition to anti-viral therapy, the paper’s senior author, Samuel A. Wickline, MD, the J. Russell Hornsby Professor of Biomedical Sciences, has shown melittin-loaded nanoparticles to be effective in killing tumor cells.
The new study shows that melittin loaded onto these nanoparticles does not harm normal cells. That’s because Hood added protective bumpers to the nanoparticle surface. When the nanoparticles come into contact with normal cells, which are much larger in size, the particles simply bounce off. HIV, on the other hand, is even smaller than the nanoparticle, so HIV fits between the bumpers and makes contact with the surface of the nanoparticle, where the bee toxin awaits.
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Nanoparticles loaded with bee venom kill HIV
If this study holds a lot of scientific weight, that’s fucking amazing. Nanoparticles have been showing nothing but great promises for the field of virology it seems.
(via ikenbot)