Resveratrol attenuates intestinal injury in irradiated rats via PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling pathway

Radiation-induced enteritis is one of the greatest challenges in radiotherapy. The current study was designed to evaluate the ameliorative effect of resveratrol, which exhibits anti-inflammatory property, against radiation-induced intestinal injury in rats and to explore the underlying mechanism. Rats were exposed to a single dose of 5 Gy. Resveratrol (20 mg/kg/day) was orally administered to irradiated rats over 3 weeks. Results showed that resveratrol ameliorated the intestinal oxidative stress parameters; malondialdehyde (MDA) content, glutathione (GSH) level, and catalase (CAT) activity compared to irradiated group. Furthermore, resveratrol reduced the contents of inflammatory cytokines; tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α), nuclear factor-kappa (NF-κB), and interleukin 1β (IL-1β) in intestine. Western blotting analysis revealed that resveratrol down-regulated the proteins expression of phosphoinositide 3-kinases (PI3K), protein kinase B (Akt) as well as the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) in intestinal tissues of irradiated rats and thus reduced the inflammatory mediator production. These results were confirmed by histopathological investigation. In conclusion, resveratrol attenuated intestinal inflammation following irradiation via modulating PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway and thereby could be a promising adjuvant in radiotherapy.