Inhibitory effect of bee venom against ultraviolet B induced MMP-1 and MMP-3 in human dermal fibroblasts

Ultraviolet-B (UVB) irradiation induced the synthesis of matrix metal lop roteirase-I (MMP-I) and stromelysin-I (MMP-3) in skin fibroblasts, causing skin photoaging and skin tumor progression. The effect of honey bee venom (HBV) collected from Apis mellifera on the expression of MMP-I and MMP-3 in UVB irradiated human dermal fibroblasts (HDF) was investigated. After UVB irradiation, HBV markedly reduced UV-induced MMP-I by 50-80% and MMP-3 protein levels by 50-85% compared with that of UVB irradiated controls. It also reduced MMP-I and MMP-3 mRNA expression. Furthermore, HBV accelerated the recovery of the damaged of UVB-irradiated HIDE These results suggest that HBV is a photoprotective agent and could be used as a potential agent in preventing photoaging.