Immunomodulatory activity of resveratrol

Biochem Pharmacol. 2003 Dec 15;66(12):2427-35.   

Immunomodulatory activity of resveratrol: discrepant in vitro and in
vivo immunological effects.

Gao X, Deeb D, Media J, Divine G, Jiang H, Chapman RA, Gautam SC.

Division of Hematology/Oncology, Department of Medicine, K-13, Henry
Ford Health System, 2799 West Grand Boulevard, 48202, Detroit, MI, USA

trans-Resveratrol is a dietary polyphenolic compound present in
grapes, which has been shown to exhibit strong anti-inflammatory,
antioxidant, and chemopreventive activities. In this study we have
compared the in vitro and in vivo effects of resveratrol on the
development of various cell-mediated immune responses, including
mitogen/antigen-induced T cell proliferation, induction of cytotoxic T
lymphocytes (CTLs), interleukin-2 (IL-2) induced lymphokine activated
killer cells, and cytokine production. We found significant
suppression (>90%) of the mitogen/antigen-induced T cell proliferation
and development of allo-antigen specific CTLs in vitro with
resveratrol at a concentration of 25microM. Intragastric
administration of resveratrol (2mg daily) to mice for 4 weeks showed
no effect on age-related gain in body weight, peripheral blood cell
counts (WBC, RBC, or platelets), or the cellularity of bone marrow or
spleen. The CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cells in spleen or colony-forming
units-total in the marrow also remained unaffected by treatment with
resveratrol. Spleen cells, which were stimulated in vitro after being
removed from mice which had been administered resveratrol for 2 or 4
weeks, showed no significant change in IL-2 or concanavalin A induced
proliferation of T cells or production of IL-2 induced lymphokine
activated killer cells. Further, the production of in interferon-gamma
and IL-12 was not affected by administration of resveratrol, but
production of tumor necrosis factor-alpha was reduced. Even when
conducted entirely in vivo, treatment with resveratrol was found to
only marginally reduce allo-antigen induced T cell proliferation and
the generation of CTLs in the draining lymph nodes. Thus, even though
resveratrol strongly inhibits T cell proliferation and production of
cytolytic cells in vitro, oral administration of resveratrol for 4
weeks does not induce hematologic or hematopoietic toxicity, and only
marginally reduces the T cell-mediated immune responses.

PMID: 14637200 [PubMed - in process] 

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=14637200&dopt=Abstract