The phytochemical resveratrol (trans-3,4',5-trihydroxystilbene) is a naturally occurring polyphenol with a plethora of health-beneficial properties, including a preventive role in cancer. We surmise that resveratrol may exert its diverse biological effects by interacting with specific target proteins, denoted RTPs. To test this possibility, resveratrol was immobilized on epoxy-activated agarose forming a resveratrol affinity column (RAC), which was used to detect and isolate RTPs. Distinct RTPs can be resolved on RAC by fractionation with increasing NaCl, followed by 1 mM ATP, and finally, with 1-2 mM resveratrol. A 22-kDa polypeptide, RTP-22, eluted with resveratrol was identified by MALDI-TOF MS and cloning/expression in Escherichia coli, as dihydronicotinamide riboside quinone reductase 2 (NQO2). The utility of RAC was additionally explored with extracts derived from different staging prostate cancer cells. NQO2 was most abundant in CWR22Rv1, a model for prostate cancer transition from androgen-dependent to the hormone-refractory state. but was marginally expressed in JCA-1 cells as representing more advanced stage prostate cancer. These results provide evidence for the existence of distinctive RTPs in mammalian cells and that RAC is a facile approach to identify and purify RTPs. (C) 2004 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.