Resveratrol protects photoreceptors by blocking caspase- and PARP-dependent cell death pathways

Retinal degeneration is a major cause of severe vision loss and irreversible blindness and is characterized by progressive damage to retinal photoreceptor cells. Resveratrol (RSV) serves as an activator of the histone deacetylase, Sirt1, and has been shown to exert anti-oxidative properties. In this study, we mimicked retinal degeneration by subjecting photoreceptors (661 W cells) to glucose deprivation (GD) or light exposure. Under these conditions, we investigated the mechanisms underlying GD- or light exposure-induced cell death and the protective effect of RSV. We found that GD and light exposure resulted in mitochondrial dysfunction, oxidative stress, and cell death. Treatment of injured cells with RSV decreased the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), improved the ratio of reduced/oxidized glutathione (GSH/GSSG), mitochondrial membrane potential and morphology, and reduced apoptosis. We used the caspase inhibitor, z-VAD-fmk, and a lentiviral-mediated shRNA knockdown of PARP-1 to reveal that GD and light exposure-induced cell death have different underlying mechanisms; GD triggered a caspase-dependent cell death pathway, whereas light exposure triggered a PARP-dependent cell death pathway. The level of caspase-9 and caspase-3, upregulated following GD, were reduced by treatment with RSV. Similarly, the level of PARP-1 and AIF, upregulated following light exposure, were decreased by treatment with RSV. Additionally, treatment with RSV elevated the protein expression and enzymatic activity of Sirt1 and a Sirt1 inhibitor reduced the protective effect of RSV against insult-induced cellular injuries, indicating that RSV's protective effect may involve Sirt1 activation. Finally, we investigated the neuroprotection of RSV in vivo. Administration of RSV to mice under extreme light exposure led to a suppression of the light-induced thinning of the outer nuclear layer (ONL) detected by hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining and restored retinal function evaluated by electroretinography (ERG). Taken together, our findings provide evidence that treatment with RSV has neuroprotective effects on both GD and light exposure-induced cell death pathways in photoreceptor cells.