title: Resveratrol Interaction with Lipid Bilayers: A Synchrotron X-ray Scattering Study.
abstract: Resveratrol belongs to the large group of biologically active polyphenol compounds, with several beneficial health effects including antioxidant activity, anti-inflammatory action, cardiovascular protection, neuroprotection, and cancer chemoprevention. In the present study, the possibility that the effects of resveratrol described above are caused by resveratrol membrane interactions and structural modifications of lipid bilayers is evaluated. In this context, it is possible that resveratrol interacts selectively with lipid domains present in biological membranes, thereby modulating the localization of the anchored proteins and controlling their intracellular cascades. This study was conducted in a synchrotron particle accelerator, where the influence of resveratrol in the structural organization of lipid domains in bilayers was investigated using small- and wide-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS and WAXS) techniques. Membrane mimetic systems composed of egg l-α-phosphatidylcholine (EPC), cholesterol (CHOL), and sphingomyelin (SM), with different molar ratios, were used to access the effects of resveratrol on the order and structure of the membrane. The results revealed that resveratrol induces phase separation, promoting the formation of lipid domains in EPC, EPC:CHOL [4:1], and EPC:CHOL:SM [1:1:1] bilayers, which brings some structural organization to membranes. Therefore, resveratrol controls lipid packing of bilayers by inducing the organization of lipid rafts. Moreover, the formation of lipid domains is important for modulating the activity of many receptors, transmembrane proteins, and enzymes whose activity depends on the structural organization of the membrane and on the presence or absence of these organized domains. This evidence can thereby explain the therapeutic effects of resveratrol.
authors: UCIBIO, REQUIMTE, Department of Chemical Sciences, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Porto , Rua de Jorge Viterbo Ferreira, 228, 4050-313 Porto, Portugal.
authors: Ana Rute
authors: AR
authors: Neves
authors: UCIBIO, REQUIMTE, Department of Chemical Sciences, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Porto , Rua de Jorge Viterbo Ferreira, 228, 4050-313 Porto, Portugal.
authors: Cláudia
authors: C
authors: Nunes
authors: Institute of Inorganic Chemistry, Graz University of Technology , Stremayergasse 6/V, 8010 Graz, Austria.
authors: Heinz
authors: H
authors: Amenitsch
authors: UCIBIO, REQUIMTE, Department of Chemical Sciences, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Porto , Rua de Jorge Viterbo Ferreira, 228, 4050-313 Porto, Portugal.
authors: Salette
authors: S
authors: Reis
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002417:Cattle; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000737:chemistry; D004530:Egg Yolk; D008051:Lipid Bilayers / Q000737:chemistry*; D010713:Phosphatidylcholines / Q000737:chemistry; D000077185:Resveratrol; D053838:Scattering, Small Angle; D012756:Sheep; D013109:Sphingomyelins / Q000737:chemistry; D013267:Stilbenes / Q000737:chemistry*; D017356:Synchrotrons; D014961:X-Ray Diffraction
chemical_list: D008051:Lipid Bilayers; D010713:Phosphatidylcholines; D013109:Sphingomyelins; D013267:Stilbenes; D002784:Cholesterol; D000077185:Resveratrol