Suppression of the inflammatory cascade is implicated in resveratrol chemoprevention of experimental hepatocarcinogenesis.

PURPOSE: Resveratrol, present in grapes and red wine, has been found to prevent diethylnitrosamine (DENA)-initiated rat liver tumorigenesis, though the chemopreventive mechanisms are not completely elucidated. The current study was designed to explore whether the antiinflammatory properties of resveratrol play a role in its antihepatocarcinogenic action.

METHODS: Liver samples were harvested from a 20-week chemopreventive study in which resveratrol (50, 100 and 300 mg/kg) was shown to inhibit DENA-induced hepatocyte nodules in Sprague-Dawley rats in a dose-responsive manner. Hepatic preneoplastic and inflammatory markers, namely heat shock protein (HSP70), cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-kappaB), were studied using immunohistochemical as well as Western blot techniques.

RESULTS: Resveratrol dose-dependently suppressed DENA-induced increased expressions of hepatic HSP70 and COX-2. Resveratrol also attenuated the DENA-mediated translocation of NF-kappaB p65 from the cytosol to the nucleus with stabilization of inhibitory kappaB.

CONCLUSION: The present findings indicate that resveratrol exerts chemoprevention of hepatocarcinogenesis possibly through antiinflammatory effects during DENA-evoked rat liver carcinogenesis by suppressing elevated levels of HSP70, COX-2 as well as NF-kappaB. These beneficial effects combined with an excellent safety profile encourage the development of resveratrol for chemoprevention and intervention of human HCC that remains a devastating disease.