Resveratrol protects male Drosophila melanogaster from heat stress-induced paralysis through a mechanism independent of heat shock response activation.

There is great interest in understanding the mechanism of action of antioxidant treatments and their cellular effects. Heat shock causes proteins to denature and lose their function. To mitigate this, cells utilize the heat shock response (HSR) pathway, which produces Hsp70 chaperone protein to refold misfolded proteins. Heat shock also generates reactive oxygen species (ROS) that can damage cellular proteins. Here, we show that the dietary antioxidant resveratrol slows heat shock-induced paralysis in male Drosophila melanogaster . Live-cell imaging and molecular assays reveal this effect is not due to resveratrol activating the HSR prior to stress, suggesting involvement of ROS reduction or alternative stress pathways.