ArticleBMC pharmacology & toxicology2021
In vitro and in vivo toxicity and antibacterial efficacy of melittin against clinical extensively drug-resistant bacteria.
Article in BMC pharmacology & toxicology, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 56 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
56 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Therapeutic Prospection of Animal Venoms-Derived Antimicrobial Peptides against Infections by Multidrug-ResistantToxins · 2023Pooled it
- An in-depth review on antimicrobial efficacy of melittin in vivo.World journal of microbiology & biotechnology · 2026Review
- Melittin- and Apamin-Standardized Bee Venom: UHPLC-ESI-MS Characterization, Antibacterial Activity, and Apoptosis Induction in Human Keratinocytes.Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Multidimensional Modification and Functional Optimization of Melittin: From Natural Toxic Peptide to Safe and Effective Therapeutics.Pharmaceutics · 2026Review
- Discovery of potent low-toxicity antimicrobial peptides through diffusion modeling.Nature communications · 2026Article
- AI-Driven Discovery and Design of Antimicrobial Peptides: Progress, Challenges, and Opportunities.Probiotics and antimicrobial proteins · 2026Review
- Melittin enhances PD-L1 blockade in prostate cancer by inhibiting M2 macrophage polarization and recruitment.World journal of surgical oncology · 2026Article
- SET-M33 peptide as a selectiveMicrobiology spectrum · 2026Article
- Arthropod venom peptides: Pioneering nanotechnology in cancer treatment and drug delivery.Cancer pathogenesis and therapy · 2026Review
- FcIgG-GE11-Melittin as a novel EGFR targeted peptibody with potent cytotoxic activity against cancer cells.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Antibody-Antibiotic Conjugates: Mechanisms, Clinical Progress, and Next-Generation Strategies Against Multidrug-Resistant Bacterial Infections.MicrobiologyOpen · 2026Review
- Nanocarrier-Enabled Melittin Therapy: Mechanistic Advances, Therapeutic Applications, and Translational Challenges.International journal of nanomedicine · 2026Review
- Bee Venom and Cancer: A Mini-review Focusing on Melittin Antitumoral Effects.Current drug targets · 2026Review
- Antimicrobial Proteinoid Nanostructures via Thermal Condensation of L-Glutamic Acid and L-Tyrosine.Nanomaterials (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Structure-Function Insights into Frog Skin Peptides Reveal Potent Inhibition of West Nile Virus Entry.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Article
- Therapeutic Bioactivity Exerted by theMolecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Lipoic Acid Based Redox-Responsive Degradable Antimicrobial Polymers.Macromolecular rapid communications · 2025Article
- Gramicidin and chlorhexidine encapsulated in bicontinuous microemulsions: antimicrobial activity performance and their impact on self-assembly.Journal of surfactants and detergents · 2025Article
- Research Progress in Medical Biomaterials for Bone Infections.Journal of functional biomaterials · 2025Review
- Bioactive Glass and Melittin Thin Films Deposited by MAPLE for Titanium Implant Functionalization.Materials (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundMelittin is one of the most studied antimicrobial peptides, and several in vitro experiments have demonstrated its antibacterial efficacy. However, there is evidence showing melittin has non-promising effects such as cytotoxicity and hemolysis. Therefore, concerns about unwanted collateral toxicity of melittin lie ahead in the path toward its clinical development. With these considerations, the present study aimed to fill the gap between in vitro and in vivo studies.
methodsIn the first step, in vitro toxicity profile of melittin was assessed using cytotoxicity and hemolysis tests. Next, a maximum intraperitoneal (i.p.) sub-lethal dose was determined using BALB/c mice. Besides toxicity, antimicrobial efficacy of melittin against extensively drug-resistant (XDR) Acinetobacter baumannii, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), and KPC-producing Klebsiella pneumonia (KPC-KP) pathogens were tested using both in vitro and in vivo methods.
resultsMelittin showed extensive hemolysis (HD
conclusionsThese results indicate that melittin at its safe dose could not exhibit antimicrobial activity, which hinders its application in clinical practice.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.