Molecular Effect of Resveratrol on Neurodegeneration Induced In Rats

The cross-talk between neurons and non-neuronal cells seems to be a critical step in the progression of neurodegeneration and molecules that have a beneficial role may turn into harmful players. Aluminum is a well documented neurotoxin, resulting from the fact that it replaces the usual metal ions in proteins and enzymes, causing a change in the replication rate or decreasing the metabolic rate which may triggers neuronal damage. The plant polyphenol resveratrol has been touted to have multiple health benefits including neuroprotection. A commonly cited mechanism of resveratrol action is via the activation of the longevity factor Sir2/Sirt1, whose deacetylase activity on several transcription factors has stress resistance and pro-survival effects. In this study we propose APE1/Ref-1 (APE1), a multifunctional protein possessing both DNA repair and transcriptional regulatory activities, as newb reserveratrol-mediated neuroprotection target. We believe that understanding the molecular balance between total oxidant versus antioxidant capacities as well as pro-apoptotic versus pro-survival proteins during neuroinflammation is essential for therapeutics development.

Autorentext

Understanding how the cell responds to different stimuli is probably the greatest scientific challenge of the current generation as well as studying biochemical switches of cell division versus apoptosis. This book brings basic research studies that provide new insights on molecular mechanisms that in turn translate into targeted anti-cancer drug.