Tetraponera rufonigra (Arboreal Bicoloured Ant) venom induces pain, inflammation, and anaphylaxis in people and has an increased incident in Southeast Asia regions. The bioactive components and mechanism of action of the ant venom are still limited. The aim of this research was to identify the protein composition and inflammatory process of the ant venom by using RAW 264.7 macrophage cells. The major venom proteins are composed of 5' nucleotidase, prolyl endopeptidase-like, aminopeptidase N, trypsin-3, venom protein, and phospholipase A2 (PLA2). The venom showed PLA2 activity and represented 0.46 μg of PLA2 bee venom equivalent/μg crude venom protein. The venom induced cytotoxic in a dose- and time-dependent manner with IC20 approximately at 4.01 µg/mL. The increased levels of COX-2 and PGE2 were observed after 1 h of treatment correlating with an upregulation of COX-2 expression. Moreover, the level of mPGES-1 expression was obviously increased after 12 h of venom induction. Hence, our results suggested that the induction of COX-2/mPGEs-1 pathway could be a direct pathway for the ant venom-induced inflammation.
Keywords: COX-2/mPGES-1 pathway; hymenoptera; inflammation.