Galleria mellonella as a drug discovery model to study oxidative stress
Galleria mellonella as a drug discovery model to study oxidative stress
Biological systems are equipped with endogenous antioxidant defence mechanisms against reactive oxygen species (ROS). Accumulation of ROS usually overwhelms this, creating pathologic effects. Oxidative toxicity has been reported as a causative factor in neurodegenerative diseases, cancer and diabetes mellitus (DM). However, developing an elaborate in vivo model system for mechanistic and therapeutic studies has been challenging. This present study sought to establish Galleria mellonella larvae as an ideal model for studying oxidative toxicity as a precursor to in vitro studies. We investigated Indole-3-propionic acid, Trolox, Resveratrol, Alpha tocopherol, Alpha lipoic acid, Orotic acid, Ginsenoside RB1, and Xanthohumol in this study, based on their antioxidant effects previously reported in different disease models. Tolerable concentrations of the compounds were established in vivo. Whilst no toxicity was recorded following treatment with Alpha tocopherol and Orotic acid, the remaining compounds displayed marked toxicity. We then conducted cell viability experiments in primary human fibroblast cell lines, and observed that tolerable concentrations in larvae produced 50-100% cell viability in vitro. Finally, Resveratrol and Alpha tocopherol were observed to rescue the larvae from juglone-induced oxidative toxicity. The larvae of Galleria mellonella can therefore be used for conducting oxidative toxicity and proof-of-concept studies of compounds.
Animals, Antioxidants/pharmacology, Cell Line, Cell Survival/drug effects, Drug Discovery/methods, Fibroblasts/drug effects, Humans, Larva/drug effects, Moths/drug effects, Oxidative Stress/drug effects, Reactive Oxygen Species/metabolism, Resveratrol/pharmacology, alpha-Tocopherol/pharmacology, Galleria mellonella, Oxidative toxicity, In vitro, Antioxidants, In vivo, Fibroblast cells
Edzeamey, Fred Jonathan
cb83a835-e441-4ca3-bdcc-27b6de34f5a4
Ramchunder, Zenouska
eb591d7a-e89a-4fda-8416-24e89a1309ef
McCarthy, Ronan R.
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Virmouni, Sara Anjomani
c7b6cd86-c153-4daa-bdd1-c701c7bf3993
30 April 2025
Edzeamey, Fred Jonathan
cb83a835-e441-4ca3-bdcc-27b6de34f5a4
Ramchunder, Zenouska
eb591d7a-e89a-4fda-8416-24e89a1309ef
McCarthy, Ronan R.
0b2cf2e0-b0ff-4c92-aa04-92d91182d1f2
Virmouni, Sara Anjomani
c7b6cd86-c153-4daa-bdd1-c701c7bf3993
Edzeamey, Fred Jonathan, Ramchunder, Zenouska, McCarthy, Ronan R. and Virmouni, Sara Anjomani
(2025)
Galleria mellonella as a drug discovery model to study oxidative stress.
Scientific Reports, 15 (1), [15218].
(doi:10.1038/s41598-025-99337-6).
Abstract
Biological systems are equipped with endogenous antioxidant defence mechanisms against reactive oxygen species (ROS). Accumulation of ROS usually overwhelms this, creating pathologic effects. Oxidative toxicity has been reported as a causative factor in neurodegenerative diseases, cancer and diabetes mellitus (DM). However, developing an elaborate in vivo model system for mechanistic and therapeutic studies has been challenging. This present study sought to establish Galleria mellonella larvae as an ideal model for studying oxidative toxicity as a precursor to in vitro studies. We investigated Indole-3-propionic acid, Trolox, Resveratrol, Alpha tocopherol, Alpha lipoic acid, Orotic acid, Ginsenoside RB1, and Xanthohumol in this study, based on their antioxidant effects previously reported in different disease models. Tolerable concentrations of the compounds were established in vivo. Whilst no toxicity was recorded following treatment with Alpha tocopherol and Orotic acid, the remaining compounds displayed marked toxicity. We then conducted cell viability experiments in primary human fibroblast cell lines, and observed that tolerable concentrations in larvae produced 50-100% cell viability in vitro. Finally, Resveratrol and Alpha tocopherol were observed to rescue the larvae from juglone-induced oxidative toxicity. The larvae of Galleria mellonella can therefore be used for conducting oxidative toxicity and proof-of-concept studies of compounds.
Text
s41598-025-99337-6
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Accepted/In Press date: 18 April 2025
e-pub ahead of print date: 30 April 2025
Published date: 30 April 2025
Keywords:
Animals, Antioxidants/pharmacology, Cell Line, Cell Survival/drug effects, Drug Discovery/methods, Fibroblasts/drug effects, Humans, Larva/drug effects, Moths/drug effects, Oxidative Stress/drug effects, Reactive Oxygen Species/metabolism, Resveratrol/pharmacology, alpha-Tocopherol/pharmacology, Galleria mellonella, Oxidative toxicity, In vitro, Antioxidants, In vivo, Fibroblast cells
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 506446
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/506446
ISSN: 2045-2322
PURE UUID: feebeaba-6562-493a-b32c-147e1391d971
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Date deposited: 07 Nov 2025 17:36
Last modified: 08 Nov 2025 03:19
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Contributors
Author:
Fred Jonathan Edzeamey
Author:
Zenouska Ramchunder
Author:
Ronan R. McCarthy
Author:
Sara Anjomani Virmouni
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