Abstract
Resveratrol is a polyphenol found in grapes and berries that has antioxidant, antiproliferative and anti-inflammatory properties. For these reasons, it is available as a dietary supplement, and it is under investigation in several clinical trials. Few data are available regarding the effects of resveratrol on thyroid function. A previous study showed that resveratrol transiently increases iodide influx in FRTL-5 rat thyroid cells. Indeed, this increase arises after short treatment times (6–12 h), and no further effects are seen after 24 h. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of resveratrol on iodide uptake and sodium/iodide symporter expression in thyroid cells after longer times of treatment. For this purpose, the effects of resveratrol were evaluated both in vitro and in vivo using the rat thyroid FRTL-5 cell line and Sprague-Dawley rats, respectively. In FRTL-5 cells, resveratrol decreased the sodium/iodide symporter RNA and protein expression as a function of time. Furthermore, resveratrol decreased cellular iodide uptake after 48 h of treatment. The inhibitory effect of resveratrol on iodide uptake was confirmed in vivo in Sprague-Dawley rats. This study demonstrates that with longer-term treatment, resveratrol is an inhibitor of sodium/iodide symporter gene expression and function in the thyroid. These data suggest that resveratrol can act as a thyroid disruptor, which indicates the need for caution as a supplement and in therapeutic use.
Highlights
Resveratrol (3,49,5-trihydroxystilbene) is a natural polyphenol that is present in grapes, berries, peanuts and other plants, where it acts as a phytoalexin, to protect the plant from pathogenic attack [1]
Resveratrol is available as a dietary supplement, and its use is being investigated for various disorders in several clinical trials, both completed and ongoing [5,6,7]
We studied on the effects of resveratrol on normal thyroid cells as a function of time, and we show that after 48 h of treatment, resveratrol down-regulates the expression of the NIS gene and inhibits iodide uptake
Summary
Resveratrol (3,49,5-trihydroxystilbene) is a natural polyphenol that is present in grapes, berries, peanuts and other plants, where it acts as a phytoalexin, to protect the plant from pathogenic attack [1]. Several studies have shown that resveratrol has many therapeutically relevant properties, such as antioxidant, antiinflammatory and antiproliferative activities [1,2,3,4]. For these reasons, there is great interest for the use of resveratrol in several chronic human diseases, such as cancer and diabetes, and in neurodegenerative and cardiovascular disorders. Some reports have shown an antiproliferative effect of resveratrol in thyroid cancer cell lines [9,10,11]. A recent study showed that can resveratrol increase the expression of some thyroid-specific genes, including the sodium/ iodide symporter (NIS) gene, in human thyroid anaplastic carcinoma cell lines [11]
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