Resveratrol ameliorates thymus senescence changes in D-galactose induced mice

Thymic microenvironment plays an important role in the development of T cells. The decrease of thymic epithelial cells is the main cause of age-related thymic atrophy or degeneration. Resveratrol (RSV), a phytoalexin produced from plants, has been shown to inhibit the adverse effects of dietary obesity on the structure and function of thymus. D-galactose (D-gal) can induce accelerated aging in mice. In the present study, the young mice (2-month-old) were injected with D-gal (120 mg/kg/d) for 8 consecutive weeks to construct accelerated aging model. Compared with normal control mice, the thymus epithelium of the D-gal treated mice had structural changes, the number of senescent cells increased, and the number of CD4+ T cells decreased and CD8+ T cells increased. After RSV administration by gavage for 6 weeks, it was found that RSV improved surface phenotypes of D-gal treated mice, and recovered thymus function by maintaining the ratio of CD4+ and CD8+ cells. It also indicated that RSV enhanced the cells proliferation and inhibited cellular senescence. Increased autoimmune regulator (Aire) expression was presented in the RSV treated mice. The Lymphotoxin-beta receptor (LTβR) expression also increased. These findings suggest that RSV intake could restore the alterations caused by D-gal treatment in the thymus via stimulation of Aire expression. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Aging; Aire; D-galactose; Resveratrol; Thymus.