Bee Venom Phospholipase A(2): Yesterday’s Enemy Becomes Today’s Friend

Bee venom therapy has been used to treat immune-related diseases such as arthritis for a long time. Recently, it has revealed that group III secretory phospholipase A(2) from bee venom (bee venom group III sPLA(2)) has in vitro and in vivo immunomodulatory effects. A growing number of reports have demonstrated the therapeutic effects of bee venom group III sPLA(2). Notably, new experimental data have shown protective immune responses of bee venom group III sPLA(2) against a wide range of diseases including asthma, Parkinson’s disease, and drug-induced organ inflammation. It is critical to evaluate the beneficial and adverse effects of bee venom group III sPLA(2) because this enzyme is known to be the major allergen of bee venom that can cause anaphylactic shock. For many decades, efforts have been made to avoid its adverse effects. At high concentrations, exposure to bee venom group III sPLA(2) can result in damage to cellular membranes and necrotic cell death. In this review, we summarized the current knowledge about the therapeutic effects of bee venom group III sPLA(2) on several immunological diseases and described the detailed mechanisms of bee venom group III sPLA(2) in regulating various immune responses and physiopathological changes.