Honey bee venom has been established to have significant effect in immunotherapy. In the present study, (Z)-11-eicosenol-a major constituent of bee venom, along with its derivations methyl cis-11-eicosenoate and cis-11-eicosenoic acid, were synthesised to investigate their immune stimulatory effect and possible use as vaccine adjuvants. Stimuli that prime and activate the immune system have exerted profound effects on immune cells, particularly macrophages; however, the effectiveness of bee venom constituents as immune stimulants has not yet been established. Here, the abilities of these compounds to act as pro-inflammatory stimuli were assessed, either alone or in combination with lipopolysaccharide (LPS), by examining the secretion of tumour necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and the cytokines interleukin-1β (IL-1β), IL-6 and IL-10 by THP-1 macrophages. The compounds clearly increased the levels of IL-1β and decreased IL-10, whereas a decrease in IL-6 levels suggested a complex mechanism of action. A more in-depth profile of macrophage behaviour was therefore obtained by comprehensive untargeted metabolic profiling of the cells using liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (LC-MS) to confirm the ability of the eicosanoids to trigger the immune system. The level of 358 polar and 315 non-polar metabolites were changed significantly (p < 0.05) by all treatments. The LPS-stimulated production of most of the inflammatory metabolite biomarkers in glycolysis, the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle, the pentose phosphate pathway, purine, pyrimidine and fatty acids metabolism were significantly enhanced by all three compounds, and particularly by methyl cis-11-eicosenoate and cis-11-eicosenoic acid. These findings support the proposed actions of (Z)-11-eicosenol, methyl cis-11-eicosenoate and cis-11-eicosenoic acid as immune system stimulators.
蜜蜂毒液已被证实在免疫疗法中具有显著的效果。在本研究中,蜜蜂毒液的主要成分之一(Z)-11-十一烯醇,以及它的衍生物甲基顺式-11-十一烯酸甲酯和顺式-11-十一烯酸被合成,以研究它们的免疫刺激作用和可能用作疫苗佐剂的用途。刺激免疫系统的刺激物对免疫细胞,特别是巨噬细胞产生了深远的影响;然而,蜜蜂毒液成分作为免疫刺激物的有效性尚未被证实。在本研究中,这些化合物的作为促炎症刺激物的能力,无论是单独使用还是与脂多糖(LPS)结合使用,均通过检查THP-1巨噬细胞分泌肿瘤坏死因子-α(TNF-α)和细胞因子白细胞介素-1β(IL-1β)、IL-6和IL-10的分泌来评估。这些化合物明显增加了IL-1β的水平,并降低了IL-10的水平,而IL-6水平的降低则表明了一种复杂的作用机制。因此,通过使用液相色谱-质谱(LC-MS)对细胞进行全面的非定向代谢分析,以确认二十碳五烯酸类化合物触发免疫系统的能力,获得了更深入的巨噬细胞行为概况。所有处理都显着改变了358个极性和315个非极性代谢物的水平(p <0.05)。所有三种化合物,特别是甲基顺式-11-十一烯酸甲酯和顺式-11-十一烯酸,显著增强了糖酵解、三羧酸循环、戊糖磷酸途径、嘌呤、嘧啶和脂肪酸代谢中的大多数炎性代谢物生物标志物的LPS刺激产生。这些发现支持(Z)-11-十一烯醇、甲基顺式-11-十一烯酸甲酯和顺式-11-十一烯酸被作为免疫系统刺激剂的假设行动。