Resveratrol promotes cellular glucose utilization in primary cultured cortical neurons via calcium-dependent signaling pathway

Background and PurposeImpairment of glucose utilization contributes to neuronal degeneration of Alzheimer's disease patients. Cellular glucose utilization can be regulated by calcium-dependent signaling pathways. Resveratrol (RSV) is a plant-derived polyphenol with multiple beneficial effects, including neuroprotection and metabolic improvement. Here, we investigated the effect of RSV on neuronal calcium signal and glucose utilization.Experimental MethodsPrimary culture of cortical neurons, calcium imaging, 2-NBDG assay and western blotting were employed to investigate RSV-mediated effects on neuronal calcium signal and glucose utilization.ResultsRSV elevated intracellular calcium in cortical neurons via modulation of secondary messenger system including nitrous oxide, cGMP and cAMP. Secondarily, a calcium-dependent enhancement of neuronal glucose utilization after RSV treatment was observed. The effects on neuronal glucose utilization are largely dependent on RSV-induced calcium-dependent AMP-activated protein kinase activation.ConclusionOur findings show that activation of calcium-dependent signaling pathways by RSV may convey improvements of neuronal glucose utilization.