Resveratrol suppresses cell transformation and induces apoptosis through ap53-dependent pathway

Resveratrol, a plant constituent enriched in the skin of grapes, is one of the most promising agents for the prevention of cancer. However, the mechan ism of the anti-carcinogenic activity of resveratrol is not well understood . Here we offer a possible explanation of its anti-cancer effect. Resveratr ol suppresses tumor promoter-induced cell transformation and markedly induc es apoptosis, transactivation of p53 activity and expression of p53 protein in the same cell line and at the same dosage, Also, resveratrol-induced ap optosis occurs only in cells expressing wild-type p53 (p53(+/+)), but not i n p53-deficient (p53(-/-)) cells, while there is no difference in apoptosis induction between normal lymphoblasts and sphingomyelinase-deficient cell lines. These results demonstrate for the first time that resveratrol induce s apoptosis through activation of p53 activity, suggesting that its anti-tu mor activity may occur through the induction of apoptosis.