Resveratrol exerts an anti-inflammatory effect on collagen-induced arthritis and osteoarthritis in rats via activation of sirtuin 1 (SIRT1). Autophagy can be induced by resveratrol and leads to amelioration of interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β) release in vitro. We aimed to determine the anti-inflammatory mechanisms of resveratrol in patients with gout.
Blood samples were obtained from patients with acute gout, intercritical gout (IG) and healthy controls (HC). The mRNA and protein levels of SIRT1 and nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-kB) p65 were determined in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) lysate from these patients. In the in vitro experiment, SIRT1, autophagy-related genes (beclin-1 and microtubule-associated protein 1 light-chain 3) and key genes involved in the gouty inflammatory pathway, including NF-κB p65, NLR family pyrin domain containing 3 (NLRP3), caspase-1 and IL-1β, were determined in PBMCs lysate or plasma from IG patients exposed to monosodium urate (MSU) crystals with or without resveratrol.
The mRNA and protein levels of SIRT1 were downregulated in PBMCs from gout patients in comparison with HC. In the in vitro experiment, the protein levels of SIRT1 were downregulated in PBMCs from IG patients exposed to MSU crystals and were restored by resveratrol in a dose-dependent manner. Furthermore, high doses of resveratrol ameliorated the release of the inflammatory cytokine IL-1β. In addition, the mRNA levels of NLRP3 and NF-κB p65 were regulated by resveratrol, but caspase-1 and IL-1β were not. Furthermore, resveratrol promoted MSU-induced autophagy in PBMCs from patients with gout.
These findings suggest that resveratrol ameliorates gouty inflammation via upregulation of SIRT1 to promote autophagy in patients with gout.