The antitumor effect of resveratrol on nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells.

The anti-tumor effect of resveratrol has been observed in many cancers. Here, we examined the anti-tumor activity of resveratrol in human nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) cells. Resveratrol, in a dose-dependent manner, inhibited proliferation related proteins (Ki67, PCNA), and cell proliferation, and reduced apoptosis related proteins (cleaved caspase-3, cleaved caspase-9) and apoptosis in nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells. Resveratrol treatment inhibited the increased-expression of Survivin in NPC cells, while the overexpressed Survivin counteracted the effect of resveratrol on cell proliferation and apoptosis in NPC cells, thus establishing Resveratrol-induced reduction in increased-survivin in NPC cells as the underlying mechanism. These findings show that resveratrol can be used to modify the cell growth and death in NPC cells.