Comparative analysis of the effect of resveratrol derivatives on microRNAs

Abstract

Dietary factors are associated with an increased risk of the development of several diseases. Some phytochemicals regulate animal microRNAs (miRNAs) that have been implicated in disease development. Understanding the beneficial changes in miRNA expression mediated by food ingredients or food-derived natural products is important for maintaining good health and finding novel dietary functions. Previous studies reported that resveratrol controls breast cancer cell proliferation by inducing the expression of tumor-suppressive miRNAs. Although several stilbene derivatives in foods exist, their functional activity in regulating miRNAs has not yet been elucidated. Here, we conducted a preliminary study to investigate whether resveratrol derivatives (gnetin C, ε-viniferin, and piceid) regulate similar tumor-suppressive miRNAs as resveratrol in breast cancer. We first reported that slight differences in the structure could influence the effect of each compound on cell proliferation and miRNA expression.