Africanized honey bees, expected to be in the U.S.A. by 1990, will pose a threat to people in the southern states through envenomation from massive sting attacks. This revised application is to use a mouse model to study and compare venom from Africanized bees with venom from European honey bees and to develop immunological strategies for minimizing toxic and allergic reactions to envenomation by multiple stings from Africanized bees. To confirm preliminary findings of the protective effects of beekeeper IgG during venom challenge, it is proposed to compare the efficacy of passive immunization with antivenom antibodies and the efficacy of preimmunization with European bee venom before Africanized bee venom challenge. Cross reactivity between European and Africanized bee venoms will be determined using IgG and IgE antibody systems. Phospholipase A2, mellitin and hyaluronidase will be purified from Africanized and European bee venom to compare their content and toxicities. These studies and venom component depletion experiments will identify the main component of Af venom for immunization studies and biochemical characterization. Patients allergic to European bee stings may be at high risk from Africanized bees. Therefore, a model of human systemic anaphylaxis to bee venom will be established in the mouse. After development of high levels of IgE antibodies in high responder mice, the mice will be infused with IgG antibodies, or treated with PLA2 to boost IgE antibody production or treated with modified PLA2 to suppress IgE antibodies prior to lethal challenge with PLA2. These experiments may suggest ways to reduce the risk from Africanized bees in people with established European bee sting allergy.
| Schumacher, M J; Egen, N B; Tanner, D (1996) Neutralization of bee venom lethality by immune serum antibodies. Am J Trop Med Hyg 55:197-201 |
| Schumacher, M J; Egen, N B (1995) Significance of Africanized bees for public health. A review. Arch Intern Med 155:2038-43 |
| Schumacher, M J; Tveten, M S; Egen, N B (1994) Rate and quantity of delivery of venom from honeybee stings. J Allergy Clin Immunol 93:831-5 |
| Schumacher, M J; Schmidt, J O; Egen, N B et al. (1992) Biochemical variability of venoms from individual European and Africanized honeybees (Apis mellifera). J Allergy Clin Immunol 90:59-65 |
