Endocrine Abstracts

Objective: Resveratrol is a phytoestrogen with various antiproliferatic and proapoptotic effects. One of the underlying mechanisms is downregulation of apoptosis inhibitors, such as Survivin. In human pituitary adenoma cells, Survivin expression is increased as compared to healthy pituitary gland tissue. This in vitro study aims to analyze the effect of Resveratrol on GH3 pituitary adenoma cells of the rat.

Methods: GH3 cells were cultivated in F-12K medium containing 2.5% fetal bovine serum and 15% horse serum. Ethanol served as solvent for Resveratrol. GH3 cells were incubated with Resveratrol concentrations from 20 to 100 μM for 48 to 72 h. Culture medium and Ethanol served as controls. Cells were counted using a hemocytometer. Apoptosis was quantified using an ELISA. Relative expression of Survivin as compared to β-2-microglobuline (B2MG) was measured using quantitative real time PCR (qRT-PCR). T served as statistical test, whereas P<0.05 was supposed to be statistically significant.

Results: GH3 cell counts significantly decreased with growing concentrations of Resveratrol (P<0.005). ELISA significantly demonstrated apoptosis in two cell passages treated with 100 μM Resveratrol (P<1×10⁻⁸). In two cell passages, qRT-PCR detected a relative increase in Survivin expression (SE) in the Ethanol control and a relative decrease in SE after treatment with 100μM Resveratrol as compared to culture medium (culture medium SE: 0.009, 0.008; Ethanol control SE: 0.011, 0.014; SE after Resveratrol treatment: 0.007, 0.007).

Conclusions: Resveratrol decreases GH3 cell counts in a dose-dependent manner by inducing apoptosis, which may possibly be mediated by Resveratrol-dependent downregulation of Survivin. Further investigation of the potential effects of Resveratrol on pituitary adenoma cells is warranted.

Declaration of interest: The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest that could be perceived as prejudicing the impartiality of the research project.

Funding: This research did not receive any specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sector.