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Immunology of Bee Venom

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Abstract

Bee venom is a blend of biochemicals ranging from small peptides and enzymes to biogenic amines. It is capable of triggering severe immunologic reactions owing to its allergenic fraction. Venom components are presented to the T cells by antigen-presenting cells within the skin. These Th2 type T cells then release IL-4 and IL-13 which subsequently direct B cells to class switch to production of IgE. Generating venom-specific IgE and crosslinking FcεR1(s) on the surface of mast cells complete the sensitizing stage in allergic individuals who are most likely to experience severe and even fatal allergic reactions after being stung. Specific IgE for bee venom is a double-edged sword as it is a powerful mediator in triggering allergic events but is also applied successfully in diagnosis of the venom allergic patient. The healing capacity of bee venom has been rediscovered under laboratory-controlled conditions using animal models and cell cultures. The potential role of enzymatic fraction of bee venom including phospholipase A2 in the initiation and development of immune responses also has been studied in numerous research settings. Undoubtedly, having insights into immunologic interactions between bee venom components and innate/specific immune cells both locally and systematically will contribute to the development of immunologic strategies in specific and epitope-based immunotherapy especially in individuals with Hymenoptera venom allergy.

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Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge the professional revising of Dr. Todd Rambasek and Dr. Anton Pieter Bussink.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Immunology Research Center, Department of Immunology, and Student’s Research Committee, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran

    Daniel Elieh Ali Komi & Farzaneh Shafaghat

  2. Allergy and Immunology Department, Hospital Universitario Austral, Avenida Presidente Peron 1500, Pilar, Buenos Aires, Argentina

    Ricardo D. Zwiener

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  1. Daniel Elieh Ali Komi
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  2. Farzaneh Shafaghat
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  3. Ricardo D. Zwiener
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Correspondence to Ricardo D. Zwiener.

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I hereby state that none of the coauthors and the corresponding author of this paper have conflict of interest, and it has been prepared for publication without using any fund. Moreover, the paper does not contain any studies with human participants or animals performed by any of the authors.

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Daniel Elieh Ali Komi, Farzaneh Shafaghat, and Ricardo D. Zwiener declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Elieh Ali Komi, D., Shafaghat, F. & Zwiener, R.D. Immunology of Bee Venom. Clinic Rev Allerg Immunol 54, 386–396 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12016-017-8597-4

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