Resveratrol, a
polyphenol present in grapes and red wine, has been studied due to its vast pharmacological activity. It has been demonstrated that
resveratrol inhibits production of inflammatory mediators in different in vitro and in vivo models. Our group recently demonstrated that
resveratrol reduced the production of
prostaglandin (PG) E2 and
8-isoprostane in rat activated microglia. In a microglial-neuronal coculture,
resveratrol reduced neuronal death induced by activated microglia. However, less is known about its direct roles in neurons. In the present study, we investigated the effects of
resveratrol on
interleukin (IL)-1beta stimulated SK-N-SH cells.
Resveratrol (0.1-5 microM) did not reduce the expression of
cyclooxygenase (COX)-2 and microsomal
PGE2 synthase-1 (mPGES-1), although it drastically reduced
PGE2 and
PGD2 content in IL-1beta-stimulated SK-N-SH cells. This effect was due, in part, to a reduction in COX enzymatic activity, mainly COX-2, at lower doses of
resveratrol. The production of
8-iso-PGF2alpha, a marker of cellular
free radical generation, was significantly reduced by
resveratrol. The present work provides evidence that
resveratrol reduces the formation of
prostaglandins in
neuroblastoma cells by reducing the enzymatic activity of inducible
enzymes, such as COX-2, and not the transcription of the PG synthases, as demonstrated elsewhere.