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Testing the biological activities of a dietary compound like resveratrol presents various challenges, which are highlighted in this commentary, with some suggested direction for future research, focusing on five challenges: (1) many different cellular effects are observed for resveratrol, but it is not known whether they arise from one point of action (or a few) or whether resveratrol is non-specific in its action; (2) the health-promotion effect of dietary resveratrol is likely a combinatory effect of various bioactive components in the mixture (diet); (3) the known cell biological response to resveratrol is presently based on exposure to short-term high levels, and better in vitro analyses have to be developed; (4) the actual level of resveratrol and resveratrol metabolites present in vitro and in vivo during experiments may be over- and underestimated, respectively, because resveratrol is not very soluble in water; and (5) only a few small clinical studies have been published to date, focusing on the therapeutic effects of resveratrol. Further, clinical trials addressing the disease-preventive effects are especially challenging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An introduction is presented in which the editor discusses various reports within the issue on enhancing the use of resveratrol for promoting human health food and medicinal preparation.

Numerous scientific papers have suggested health-promoting effects of resveratrol, including claims in the prevention of diseases such as coronary heart disease, diabetes, and cancer. Therefore, it was proposed that the scientific community needed to express recommendations on the human use of resveratrol. Such recommendations were formulated after the first international resveratrol conference in Denmark, Resveratrol2010. The working group stated that the evidence was 'not sufficiently strong to justify recommendation for the chronic administration of resveratrol to human beings, beyond the dose which can be obtained from dietary sources.' It was a disappointing conclusion relative to the positive claims about the therapeutic potential of resveratrol made by the media. However, since 2010, results from the first clinical trials on resveratrol have been made available. Because of these emerging results, it is necessary to formulate updated versions of the recommendations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Basic science literature abounds with molecules that promise to ameliorate almost any disease, from curing cancer to slowing the aging process itself. However, most of these compounds will never even be evaluated in humans, let alone proven effective. Here, we use resveratrol as an example to highlight the enormous difficulties in understanding pharmacokinetics, determining side effects, and, ultimately, establishing mechanisms of action for a natural compound. Despite extensive interest and effort, and continuing promising results from basic science groups, very little is known even today about the effects of resveratrol in humans. Part of the problem is the unattractiveness of natural compounds to large, well-funded companies that could run clinical trials because developing their own molecules affords much greater protection for their intellectual property. In fact, selling unpatentable material motivates smaller nutraceutical companies to complicate the scientific problem even more—each creates its own proprietary blend, making it extremely difficult to compare their data with those of other companies, or of academic labs using pure compounds. But even beyond these problems lies a deeper one; resveratrol, and almost every natural compound, is likely to have many clinically relevant targets with different dose–response profiles, tissue distributions, and modifiers. Tackling this type of problem efficiently, and even beginning to address the spectrum of other molecules with claimed benefits, is likely to require the development of new paradigms and approaches. Examples include better molecular modeling to predict interactions, large-scale screens for toxic or other common effects, affinity-based methods to identify drug-interacting proteins, and better synthesis of existing data, including legislation to promote the release of trial results, and tracking of voluntary supplement usage. The evidence for benefits of resveratrol in humans remains too sparse to be conclusive; yet, the limited data that are available, combined with a growing list of animal studies, provide a strong justification for further study. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Abstract: Resveratrol, a naturally occurring compound of various fruits such as grapes, is thought to possess chemopreventive properties. The levels of resveratrol in grapes and grape products including wine, varies from region to region and from one year to another. This paper reviews the resveratrol content in red wine based on relevant published data. Red wine contains an average of 1.9±1.7mg trans-resveratrol/l (8.2±7.5μM), ranging from non-detectable levels to 14.3mg/l (62.7μM) trans-resveratrol. In general, wines made from grapes of the Pinot Noir and St. Laurent varieties showed the highest level of trans-resveratrol. No region can be said to produce wines with significantly higher level of trans-resveratrol than all other regions. Levels of cis-resveratrol follow the same trend as trans-resveratrol. The average level of trans-resveratrol-glucoside (trans-piceid) in a red wine may be as much as 29.2mg/l (128.1μM), i.e., three times that of trans-resveratrol. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Background: αB-crystallin is a chaperone protein and a potential myelin antigen to human T cells in Multiple Sclerosis (MS). In this study we investigate the existence of αB-crystallin in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of patients with clinical symptoms of MS and control individuals without these symptoms, using a newly developed αB-crystallin specific chicken antibody. Methods: A chicken anti-αB-crystallin was raised against recombinant αB-crystallin, characterized and used in a semi-quantitative Western blot analysis of CSF from 16 MS patients and 16 neurological patients without MS. Results: Western blot analysis revealed the presence of high molecular weight αB-crystallin in CSF. Possibly posttranslationally modified aggregates of αB-crystallin were found in human astroglioma U373 cells. CSF αB-crystallin was seen in the CSF in 100% of MS patients and 88% of neurological controls without MS. Conclusion: αB-crystallin is present in the CSF in patients with MS and other neurological controls. Furthermore, αB-crystallin in CSF and human astroglioma cell line U373 is found in aggregates. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In the central nervous system oxidative stress has been implicated in the pathology of several neurological disorders. The ability to withstand reactive oxygen species and oxidative stress are essential for survival and therefore all aerobic cells are endowed with chemical and enzymatic antioxidative defense systems. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the antioxidative response at the transcriptional level following exposure of primary astrocytes to a pro-oxidant, Paraquat (PQ). This was done by investigating the time-dependent expression of selected genes encoding the antioxidative enzymes Mn- and CuZn superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase as well as the transcription factor component AP-1. Paraquat induced the expression of Mn- and CuZn SOD, catalase and decreases the expression of c-jun (a part of AP-1). Furthermore, the gene expression profiles were investigated after exposure to PQ using a commercial cDNA membrane array containing 207 genes from key oxidative stress pathways. The gene expression pattern clearly indicated that 60μM PQ for 48h induces genes related to oxidative stress, detoxification, mitotic arrest, DNA repair, and apoptosis. The PQ (48h)-induced expressions of genes identified in cDNA array were confirmed by Northern blot analysis, which revealed a statistical significant up-regulation of genes involved in oxidative stress, detoxification, and DNA repair/synthesis and includes heme oxygenase-1 (11-fold), NAD(P)H dehydrogenase (8-fold), glutathione S-transferase P (7-fold), glucose-regulated 78-kDa protein (7-fold), glucose-regulated 75-kDa protein (6-fold), and growth-arrest and DNA-damage-inducible protein 45 (4.5-fold) and minor changes for heat shock 10-kDa protein, NADPH-cytochrome P450 reductase, heme oxygenase-2, proliferating cell nuclear antigen, and Bcl-2-associated death promoter. Thus, we could demonstrate a PQ-inducible effect of the mRNA of antioxidative enzymes, as well as the mRNAs of possible enzymes involved in the protection against oxidative stress. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) support tumor growth by suppressing the activity of tumor-infiltrating T cells. Consistently, TAMs are considered a major limitation for the efficacy of cancer immunotherapy. However, the molecular reason behind the acquisition of an immunosuppressive TAM phenotype is not fully clarified. During tumor growth, the extracellular matrix (ECM) is degraded and substituted with a tumor-specific collagen-rich ECM. The collagen density of this tumor ECM has been associated with poor patient prognosis but the reason for this is not well understood. In this study, we investigated whether the collagen density could modulate the immunosuppressive activity of TAMs. The murine macrophage cell line RAW264.7 was threedimensionally cultured in collagen matrices of low and high collagen densities mimicking healthy and tumor tissue, respectively. Collagen density did not affect proliferation or viability of the macrophages. However, whole-transcriptome analysis revealed a striking response to the surrounding collagen density, including the regulation of immune regulatory genes and genes encoding chemokines. These transcriptional changes were shown to be similar in murine bone marrow-derived macrophages and TAMs isolated from murine tumors. Strikingly, coculture assays with primary T cells showed that macrophages cultured in high-density collagen were less efficient at attracting cytotoxic T cells and capable of inhibiting T cell proliferation more than macrophages cultured in low-density collagen. Our study demonstrates that a high collagen density can instruct macrophages to acquire an immunosuppressive phenotype. This mechanism could reduce the efficacy of immunotherapy and explain the link between high collagen density and poor prognosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Resveratrol (Resv) is a polyphenol reported to modulate mitochondrial activity. The aim was to use HeLa and 143B cells to characterize the action of Resv on mitochondrial activity, cell size and proliferation using wild type (WT) and Rho 0 cells deficient in mitochondrial DNA. In both HeLa WT and Rho 0 cells, the oxygen consumption rate (OCR) was increased at 20 µM Resv after 24 h, whereas only a non-significant increase of OCR was observed in 143B WT cells. Resv decreased cell number concentration-dependently in both WT and Rho 0 cell types. An increased cell diameter was observed in HeLa WT, but not in Rho 0 when treated with Resv. Overall, the findings presented indicate that functional mitochondria are a prerequisite for cell enlargement by Resv. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Resveratrol (Resv), a natural polyphenol, is suggested to have various health benefits including improved insulin sensitivity. Resv activates Sirtuin (Sirt1) in several species and tissues. Sirt1 is a protein deacetylase with an important role in ageing, metabolism and β-cell function. In insulinoma β-cells (INS-1E), Resv is previously shown to improve glucose-stimulated insulin secretion in a Sirt1-dependent mechanism and to protect against β-cell dedifferentiation in non-human primates, while inducing hypertrophy in myoblasts. Mammalian (mechanistic) Target of Rapamycin (mTOR), is a key regulator of cellular metabolism and regulates the cell size, β-cell survival and proliferation. In order to understand the interaction of Sirt1 and mTOR cascade activity with Resv-induced changes in the INS-1E cell line, we generated stable Sirt1-down-regulated INS-1E cells, and analysed Sirt1-dependent effects of Resv with respect to mTOR cascade activity. Sirt1-knockdown (KD) had a significant increase in cell size compared to negative-control (NEG CTR) cells. Resveratrol treatment increased cell size in both cell types in a dose-dependent manner at 24 h (Resv conc: 15–60 μM), and decreased the cell number (Resv conc: 30–60 μM). Cell area was increased in NEG CTR cells (Resv conc: 60 μM) at 24 h and KD cells at 48 h (Resv conc: 15–60 μM). Rapamycin, a specific mTOR inhibitor, counteracted the Resv-induced cell enlargement (both cell diameter and area). Furthermore, Sirt1-downregulation by itself did not affect the mTOR cascade activities as measured by Western blotting for total and phosphorylated Akt and mTOR. Rapamycin decreased the mTORC1 activity, while increasing the pAkt levels. Resveratrol did not interfere with the mTOR activity or with Sirt1 expression. Altogether, this work indicates that Sirt1 is a negative regulator of cell size. Moreover, the effect of Resv on cell size increase is mTOR-cascade dependent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Osteocytes are considered the primary mechanosensors of bone, but the signaling pathways they apply in mechanotransduction are still incompletely investigated and characterized. A growing body of data strongly indicates that P2 receptor signaling among osteoblasts and osteoclasts has regulatory effects on bone remodeling. Therefore, we hypothesized that ATP signaling is also applied by osteocytes in mechanotransduction. We applied a short fluid pulse on MLO-Y4 osteocyte-like cells during real-time detection of ATP and demonstrated that mechanical stimulation activates the acute release of ATP and that these acute ATP signals are fine-tuned according to the magnitude of loading. ATP release was then challenged by pharmacological inhibitors, which indicated a vesicular release pathway for acute ATP signals. Finally, we showed that osteocytes express functional P2X2 and P2X7 receptors and respond to even low concentrations of nucleotides by increasing intracellular calcium concentration. These results indicate that in osteocytes, vesicular ATP release is an acute mediator of mechanical signals and the magnitude of loading. These and previous results, therefore, implicate purinergic signaling as an early signaling pathway in osteocyte mechanotransduction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Chronically elevated levels of glucose impair pancreatic beta-cell function while inducing beta-cell proliferation. MicroRNA-29a (miR-29a) levels are increased in several tissues in diabetic animals and mediate decreased insulin-stimulated glucose-transport of adipocytes. The aim was to investigate the impact of glucose on miR-29a levels in INS-1E beta-cells and in human islets of Langerhans and furthermore to evaluate the impact of miR-29a on beta-cell function and proliferation. Increased glucose levels up-regulated miR-29a in beta-cells and human and rat islets of Langerhans. Glucose-stimulated insulin-secretion (GSIS) of INS-1E beta-cells was decreased by forced expression of miR-29a, while depletion of endogenous miR-29a improved GSIS. Over-expression of miR-29a increased INS-1E proliferation. Thus, miR-29a up-regulation is involved in glucose-induced proliferation of beta-cells. Furthermore, as depletion of miR-29a improves beta-cell function, miR-29a is a mediator of glucose-induced beta-cell dysfunction. Glucose-induced up-regulation of miR-29a in beta-cells could be implicated in progression from impaired glucose tolerance to type 2 diabetes. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The well-documented reduction of cancer risk by high dietary cruciferous vegetable intake may in part be caused by modulation of cytochrome P-450 (CYP) expression and activity by indoles. The purpose of the present experiments was to study the mechanism of CYP 1A1 induction by N-methoxyindole-3-carbinol (NI3C) in cultured cells and to compare the CYP-inducing potential of NI3C and indole- 3-carbinol (I3C) administered to rats. NI3C induced 7-ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylase (EROD) activity in Hepa-1c1c7 cells in a concentration-dependent manner with 10-fold higher efficiency than I3C. Inasmuch as NI3C induced binding of the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) to the dioxin-responsive element and induced expression of endogenous CYP 1A1 mRNA and an AhR-responsive chloramphenicol acetyl transferase construct, we conclude that NI3C can activate the AhR. Besides the induction of CYP 1A1, we observed an inhibition of EROD activity, with a concentration causing 50% inhibition of 6 &MuM. Oral administration of NI3C at 570 &Mumol/kg body wt to male Wistar rats increased the hepatic CYP 1A1 and 1A2 protein levels, as well as the EROD and 7-methoxyresorufin O-demethylase activities at 8 and 24 hours after administration, but the responses were less pronounced than after administration of I3C at 570 &Mumol/kg body wt. Furthermore, NI3C did not induce hepatic 7-pentoxyresorufin O-depentylase activity, as I3C did. Ascorbigen, another indolylic compound formed during degradation of glucobrassicin in the presence of ascorbic acid, was tested in the same animal model, and ascorbigen only weakly induced hepatic CYP 1A1 and 1A2, but not CYP 2B1/2. In conclusion, NI3C is a more efficient inducer of CYP 1A1 in cultured cells than I3C but is less active when administered to rodents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examines the significance of degraded indoxyl glucosinolates in the modulation of cytochrome P-450 (CYP) and glutathione S-transferase isoform in vivo. Purification of glucobrassicin (GB) and neoglucobrassicin (neoGB) from broccoli; Effects of GB and neoGB on the activities of hepatic CYP; Importance of cruciferous vegetables to reduce human cancer.