Resveratrol induces colon tumor cell apoptosis independently of p53 and precede by epithelial differentiation, mitochondrial proliferation and membrane potential collapse.

Resveratrol, a polyphenol present in wine and grapes, can inhibit tumor cell growth in vitro and tumorigenesis in vivo. Some of its effects have been linked to activation of the p53 tumor suppressor; however, p53 is frequently mutated in tumors, particularly in the common and often therapy-resistant colon cancers. Using the human wild-type p53-expressing HCT116 colon carcinoma cell line and HCT116 cells with both p53 alleles inactivated by homologous recombination, we show in the current study that resveratrol at concentrations comparable to those found in some foods can induce apoptosis independently of p53. The cell death is primarily mitochondria-mediated and not receptor-mediated. No cells survived in cultures continuously exposed to 100 microM resveratrol for 120 hr. When compared with 5-FU, resveratrol stimulated p53 accumulation and activity only weakly and with delayed kinetics and neither the increased levels nor the activity affected apoptosis detectably. The apoptosis agonist Bax was overproduced in response to resveratrol regardless of p53 status, yet the kinetics of Bax expression were influenced by p53. Remarkably, apoptosis was preceded by mitochondrial proliferation and signs of epithelial differentiation. Thus, resveratrol triggers a p53-independent apoptotic pathway in HCT116 cells that may be linked to differentiation. Copyright 2001 Wiley-Liss, Inc.