Resveratrol is one of the most widely studied bio-active plant polyphenols. While its effect on endothelial blood vessel cells, cancer cells, inflammatory processes and neurodegenerative events is well documented, little is known about the implication of this phytophenol in differentiating processes, particularly in skeletal muscle cells. Here, we report the effects of resveratrol on mouse skeletal muscle-derived cells (C2C12) in either a nondifferentiated (myoblasts) or differentiated state (myotubes) by evaluating resveratrol uptake, cell proliferation, changes in cell shape, and the expression of genes encoding muscle-specific transcription factors or contractile proteins. Resveratrol: (1) rapidly accumulates within cells through passive and facilitated processes; (2) does not strongly affect cell viability, cell cycle and apoptosis; (3) behaves as a pro-differentiating agent as shown by the lengthening of cells, leading to a myotube phenotype; (4) upregulates muscular pro-differentiation markers and transcription factors (myogenin, Scrp3) starting after 12h of exposure and strongly increases heavy chain myosin content after 18h of exposure to resveratrol; (5) increases the Srf transcription factor's transcript level, a target mRNA of the miRNA-133b, which is itself downregulated by this polyphenol. These results put forward new pro-differentiating regulatory properties of resveratrol on skeletal muscles at least partly via modulation of specific miRNAs.
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