Resveratrol Induces Mitochondrial Apoptosis and Inhibits Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition in Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma Cells

OSCC is the most common malignant cancer of the head and neck. EMT is an essential cellular process critical to the morphogenesis and homeostasis of solid tissues. It is also involved in the initial stage of cancer metastasis and invasion in which cells lose epithelial characteristics. While cancer therapy protocols such as surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy are effective and useful, the drug tolerance and toxicity of OSCC patients remain a problem. Resveratrol is mainly produced in red grape skin and exhibits anti-oxidative, anti-inflammatory, anti-proliferative, and anti-cancer properties. This study was undertaken to investigate the underlying mechanisms giving rise to the induction of apoptosis by resveratrol in the human tongue squamous cell carcinoma cell line. Resveratrol treatment resulted in a time- and dose-dependent decrease in cell viability and increased the apoptotic cell ratio in CAL-27, SCC15, and SCC25 cells. Resveratrol treatment of CAL-27 cells showed that several lines of apoptotic manifestation and decreased cell migration, invasion, and EMT-inducing transcription factor. Taken together, our findings demonstrate the inhibitory effect of resveratrol in human OSCC cells via the mitochondrial pathway and that resveratrol is able to inhibit cell invasion and migration by inhibiting the EMT-inducing transcription factors.