The polyphenol trans-ε-viniferin (viniferin) is a dimer of resveratrol, reported to hold antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. The aims of our study were to evaluate the neuroprotective potential of viniferin in the nerve growth factor (NGF)-differentiated PC12 cells, a dopaminergic cellular model of Parkinson's disease (PD) and assess its anti-inflammatory properties in a N9 microglia-neuronal PC12 cell co-culture system. The neuronal cells were pre-treated with viniferin, resveratrol or their mixture before the administration of 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA), recognized to induce parkinsonism in rats. Furthermore, N9 microglia cells, in a co-culture system with neuronal PC12, were pre-treated with viniferin, resveratrol or their mixture to investigate whether these polyphenols could reduce lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced inflammation. Our results show that viniferin as well as a mixture of viniferin and resveratrol protects neuronal dopaminergic cells from 6-OHDA-induced cytotoxicity and apoptosis. Furthermore, when viniferin, resveratrol or their mixture was used to pre-treat microglia cells in our co-culture system, they reduced neuronal cytotoxicity induced by glial activation. Altogether, our data highlight a novel role for viniferin as a neuroprotective and anti-inflammatory molecule in a dopaminergic cellular model, paving the way for nutraceutical therapeutic avenues in the complementary treatments of PD.
Keywords: Parkinson’s disease; apotosis; dopamine; neuroinflammation; neuroprotection; oxidative stress; resveratrol; trans-ε-viniferin.