Resveratrol Induces Apoptosis and Alters Gene Expression in Human Fibrosarcoma Cells

Background: Metastatic fibrosarcomas still represent a therapeutic dilemma. Commonly used chemotherapeutic agents such as doxorubicin have proven to be effective in fewer than 30% of all cases disseminated of fibrosarcoma. Elderly patients with cardiac subdisease are not suitable for systemic chemotherapy with doxorubicin. Therefore we tested the apoptotic effects of the natural and well-tolerated compound resveratrol on human fibrosarcoma cells (HT1080). Materials and Methods: Vital, apoptotic and necrotic cells were quantified using flow cytometric analysis. Gene expression was analyzed by RNA microarray. Results: Application of resveratrol induced apoptotic cell death and reduced proliferation of HT1080 cells significantly. Correspondingly, expression of apoptosis-associated genes was altered in microarray analysis. Conclusion: This in vitro study demonstrates the anticancer activity of resveratrol against human fibrosarcoma cells. These results provide experimental support for in vivo trials assessing the effect of the natural polyphenol resveratrol. Soft tissue sarcomas are a heterogeneous group of malignant neoplasias which represent about 1% of all new cancer cases in Europe and the United States (1). Fibrosarcomas are rare soft tissue sarcomas originating from the intra- and intermuscular fibrous tissues, fascia and tendons and account for approximately 3% of all soft tissue sarcomas. Therapy for fibrosarcomas should be individualised and multimodal. The therapy of choice involves surgical resection with a wide margin of healthy tissue, usually followed by radiation treatment in order to decrease local recurrence (2, 3).