The enhancement of immune function and activation of NF-κB by resveratrol-treatment in immunosuppressive mice

• This manuscript provides an assessment of resveratrol on reinforcing immunity recovery in immunosuppressive mice.
• Resveratrol could recover macrophage phagocytic function and promote the proliferation of splenic lymphocytes.
• Resveratrol could upregulate the percentage of CD4+ T cells and the expressions of cytokines related to the immunization.
• Resveratrol could activate NF-κB signaling to regulate series of immunological responses in a dose-dependent manner.

Resveratrol, a kind of natural product found in over 70 plants, possesses both immunomodulatory and anticancer effects. Many reports have shown that resveratrol has the bidirectional regulation effects on antigen presenting and cellular immunity. However, few reports have evaluated the effects of resveratrol on reinforcing immunity recovery via activating nuclear factor -κappa B (NF-κB). In the present study, we investigated the effects of resveratrol on recovery and reconstruction of immune function by detecting nonspecific and specific immunity in immunosuppressive mice. We found that, compared to the immunosuppressive mice, the spleen index and spleen lymphocyte proliferation of resveratrol-treated mice (30 mg/kg body weight) were enhanced. After resveratrol-treatment (15 mg/kg body weight), the function of peritoneal macrophages was enhanced and the CD4 + cells were increased in peripheral blood. The expressions of serum cytokines related to immune function, including interleukin (IL)-1α/β, IL-2, tumor necrosis factor-α and NF-κB were up-regulated in a dose-dependent manner. The expression of the transcription factor NF-κB in spleen was enhanced after resveratrol-treatment. The immuno-enhancement effects of resveratrol were similar to that of levamisole (served as positive control). These results demonstrated that resveratrol had potent immune enhancement activity in immunosuppressive mice, and one possible mechanism of action was to activate the NF-κB.