Resveratrol inhibits β-amyloid-induced neuronal apoptosis through regulation of SIRT1-ROCK1 signaling pathway

PLoS One. 2013;8(3):e59888. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0059888. Epub 2013 Mar 28.

Abstract

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is characterized by the accumulation of β-amyloid peptide (Aβ) and loss of neurons. Recently, a growing body of evidences have indicated that as a herbal compound naturally derived from grapes, resveratrol modulates the pathophysiology of AD, however, with a largely unclear mechanism. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the protection of resveratrol against the neurotoxicity of β-amyloid peptide 25-35 (Aβ(25-35)) and further explore its underlying mechanism in the present study. PC12 cells were injuried by Aβ(25-35), and resveratrol at different concentrations was added into the culture medium. We observed that resveratrol increased cell viability through the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) colorimetric assays. Flow cytometry indicated the reduction of cell apoptosis by resveratrol. Moreover, resveratrol also stabilized the intercellular Ca(2+) homeostasis and attenuated Aβ(25-35) neurotoxicity. Additionally, Aβ(25-35)-suppressed silent information regulator 1 (SIRT1) activity was significantly reversed by resveratrol, resulting in the downregulation of Rho-associated kinase 1 (ROCK1). Our results clearly revealed that resveratrol significantly protected PC12 cells and inhibited the β-amyloid-induced cell apoptosis through the upregulation of SIRT1. Moreover, as a downstream signal molecule, ROCK1 was negatively regulated by SIRT1. Taken together, our study demonstrated that SIRT1-ROCK1 pathway played a critical role in the pathomechanism of AD.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Alzheimer Disease / metabolism
  • Amyloid beta-Peptides / metabolism
  • Animals
  • Antioxidants / pharmacology
  • Apoptosis*
  • Calcium / metabolism
  • Cell Survival
  • Flow Cytometry
  • Gene Expression Regulation
  • Homeostasis
  • L-Lactate Dehydrogenase / metabolism
  • Neurodegenerative Diseases / metabolism
  • Neurons / metabolism*
  • PC12 Cells
  • Peptide Fragments / metabolism
  • Rats
  • Resveratrol
  • Signal Transduction
  • Sirtuin 1 / metabolism*
  • Stilbenes / pharmacology*
  • Tetrazolium Salts
  • Thiazoles
  • rho-Associated Kinases / metabolism*

Substances

  • Amyloid beta-Peptides
  • Antioxidants
  • Peptide Fragments
  • Stilbenes
  • Tetrazolium Salts
  • Thiazoles
  • amyloid beta-protein (25-35)
  • L-Lactate Dehydrogenase
  • ROCK1 protein, rat
  • rho-Associated Kinases
  • Sirt1 protein, rat
  • Sirtuin 1
  • thiazolyl blue
  • Resveratrol
  • Calcium

Grants and funding

This work was financially supported by grants of National Natural Science Foundation of China (No.81071081), Natural Science Foundation of Shandong Province (ZR2010HM051 and ZR2012HM026), and a grant of Shandong Provincial Science and Technology Development Plan (2011GSF11810). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.