RESUMEN
OBJECTIVE: Resveratrol, a polyphenolic phytoalexin, is extracted abundantly from the red wine and grapes and biosynthesized as a defense agent to infection, ultraviolet and ozon etc. Recently, The cancer-preventive, anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidative effects of resveratrol have been reported. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of resveratrol on the expression of nitric oxide synthases in hypoxic-ischemic brain injury in the neonatal rat model. METHODS: Embryonic cortical neuronal cell culture of rat brain was performed with pregnant Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats at 18 days of gestation (E18) for in vitro approaches. In addition, unilateral carotid artery ligation was induced in seven-days old neonatal rats for in vivo approaches. The real-time PCR using iNOS, eNOS and nNOS primer, and the western blotting using the same antibodies were done to identify the effects of resveratrol. RESULTS: The expression of iNOS, eNOS and nNOS in both cell culture and animal model of neonatal HI brain injury revealed that, as indicated by western blotting and real-time PCR, the expression of iNOS was decreased in the hypoxia group while those of eNOS and nNOS were increased in the hypoxia group compared with the normoxia group. The expression of iNOS was increased in the resveratrol-treated group while those of eNOS and nNOS decreased in the resveratrol-treated group compared with a hypoxic group. CONCLUSION: The present study demonstrates resveratrol might affect nitric oxide synthases expression in HI injury of the perinatal period