**5. Conclusion**

Resveratrol induces apoptosis in MH7A human rheumatoid arthritis synovial cells, and does so with much higher potency than other polyphenols. It achieves this effect by decreasing Bcl-XL expression, which disrupts mitochondrial membrane potentials, allowing cytochrome c release from the mitochondria into the cytosol, thereby activating caspase-9 and the effector caspase-3 in a sirtuin 1-dependent manner, which induces apoptosis. In addition, AIF, p21, and p27 may also participate in resveratrol-induced MH7A cell apoptosis and growth inhibition. These findings imply that resveratrol may be capable of preventing hyperplasia of synovial cells in human rheumatoid arthritis. Resveratrol, thus, could be developed as a promising drug for treatment of rheumatoid arthritis.
