engleski

Radioprotection of Wistar rat lymphocytes against microwave radiation mediated by bee venom

Microwave radiation is a type of non-ionizing electromagnetic radiation present in the environment, and is a potential threat to human health. Cytogenetic studies of microwave radiation were conducted in vitro and in vivo, and have yielded contradictory and often intriguing experimental results. Bee venom is used in traditional medicine to treat variety of conditions, such as arthritis, rheumatism, back pain and skin disease. In recent years it has been reported that bee venom possesses antimutagenic, proinflammatory, anti-inflammatory, antinociceptive, and anticancer effects. In addition to the wide range of the bee venom’s activities, it also possesses a radioprotective capacity that was noted against X-ray and gamma radiation in various test systems. Because of the lack of conclusive data on the genotoxic status induced by microwave radiation, the aim of the present study was assessment of the radioprotective effect of bee venom against 915 MHz microwave radiation-induced DNA damage in the Wistar rat’s lymphocytes in vitro. The possible genotoxic effect of bee venom alone was also assessed on non-irradiated lymphocytes. For that purpose the alkaline comet assay was used as a sensitive tool in detection of DNA damage. In addition to the standard protocol for the comet assay the Fpg modified comet assay was also used as a much more sensitive and specific technique in detection of DNA strand breaks and oxidative stress. Results obtained by the Fpg-modified comet assay, suggest that oxidative stress can be the cause for DNA damage in Wistar rat lymphocytes in addition to some basal DNA damage detected with the standard alkaline comet assay after exposure to 915 MHz microwave radiation in vitro. Bee venom in this study demonstrated radioprotective effects against low level of microwave radiation when administered prior to the radiation exposure and immediately before irradiation. This study also demonstrated that bee venom has radioprotective effect against basal and oxidative DNA damage. Furthermore, bee venom itself has no effect on induction of DNA breaks or on oxidative stress in the low concentrations used in this research. A combination of the standard and the Fpg-modified comet assay has proven usefulness in detecting genotoxicity of microwave radiation and radioprotection of bee venom.

Radioprotection; Wistar rat lymphocytes; Microwave radiation; Bee venom; DNA damage

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