Resveratrol Attenuated Reactive Oxygen Species in Injured Endothelial Cells

Background Resveratrol has been unanimously recognized as an cardiovascular protective substance in red wine. It has been speculated that the anti-atherosclerosis effect of resveratrol is ascribed to its powerful anti-inflammatory effect. Objective To investigate the effects of resveratrol on injured human umbilical veno-endothelial cells (HUVEC) and the reactive oxygen species(ROS) production induced by TNF-α or soluble CD40L (sCD40L). Methods Cultured HUVEC were pre-incubated with resveratrol(1-50 μmol/L) for 2 hours and then treated with TNF-α(10 μg/L) or sCD40Lα(10 μg/L) for another 4 hours. MTT assay was used to detect proliterative activity of HUVEC. Immunofluorescence microscopy was used for determination of ROS expression. Results Both TNF-α and sCD40L impaired HUVEC proliferation (-32.7% and -26% vs control,P0.05) which was associated with increases in ROS expression by 3.4 and 4.9 folds respectively (P0.05). Resveratrol (10 μmol/L,50 μmol/L) dose-dependently prevented the cells from being injured by TNF-α and sCD40L (P0.01),and decreased the expression of ROS(P0.01). Conclusion Resveratrol protect TNF-α or sCD40L-induced injury in HUVEC might be ascribed to inhibition of generation of ROS.