Downregulation of proinflammatory cytokines in HTLV-1-infected T cells by Resveratrol

Background: human t-cell leukemia virus (htlv-1) is a lymphotropic retrovirus associated to adult t cell leukemia (atl) and to non-neoplastic inflammatory conditions affecting the central nervous system,lung or skin. the inflammatory disorders associated to htlv-1 are mediated by different proinflammatory cytokines as il-1α,il-6,tnf-α. the release and the role of il-17 is still debated. aims of this study were to analyze il-17 induction by htlv-1 infection and to determine whether resveratrol (res) is able to down regulate the pathway of cytokines production either in htlv-1 chronically infected mt-2 cell line or in human cd4+ cells infected in vitro with htlv-1. methods: mt-2 and htlv-1 infected cd4+ cells were analyzed for proinflammatory cytokine production before or after res treatment. the concentrations of il-17,il-1α,il-6,and tnf-α were measured in cell culture supernatants by elisa and searchlight™ technology. the il-17 mrna expression was evaluated by rt-pcr. nf-kb activation was detected by non-radioactive,electro mobility shift assay (emsa). htlv-1 rna expression was detected by real-time-pcr (rq-pcr). results: we found that res is capable of inducing a dose-dependent inhibition of il-1α,il-6 and tnf-α production in vitro and can down regulate the expression of il-17 at both mrna and protein levels in htlv-1 infected cells. this effect was associated with a dose-dependent inhibition of the of the nuclear factor kappa-b (nf-kb) activity. conversely,res did not apparently affect htlv-1 proliferation. conclusions: these results support the anti-inflammatory properties of res,suggesting that it might be a useful therapeutic agent for the treatment of htlv-1 related inflammatory diseases. © 2016 the author(s).