Background: The natural plant polyphenol resveratrol present in some foods including grapes, wine, and peanuts, has been implicated in the inhibition, delay, and reversion of cellular events associated with heart diseases and tumorigenesis. Recent work has suggested that the cancer chemoprotective effect of the compound is primarily linked to its ability to induce cell division cycle arrest and apoptosis, the latter possibly through the activation of pro-apoptotic proteins such as Bax.
Methods: The expression, subcellular localization, and importance of Bax for resveratrol-provoked apoptosis were assessed in human HCT116 colon carcinoma cells and derivatives with both bax alleles inactivated.
Results: Low to moderate concentrations of resveratrol induced co-localization of cellular Bax protein with mitochondria, collapse of the mitochondrial membrane potential, activation of caspases 3 and 9, and finally, apoptosis. In the absence of Bax, membrane potential collapse was delayed, and apoptosis was reduced but not absent. Resveratrol inhibited the formation of colonies by both HCT116 and HCT116 bax -/- cells.
Conclusion: Resveratrol at physiological doses can induce a Bax-mediated and a Bax-independent mitochondrial apoptosis. Both can limit the ability of the cells to form colonies.