title: The multikinase inhibitor sorafenib reverses the suppression of IL-12 and enhancement of IL-10 by PGE₂ in murine macrophages.
abstract: Classical activating stimuli like LPS drive macrophages to secrete a battery of inflammatory cytokines, including interleukin (IL)-12/23, through Toll-like receptor (TLR) signaling. TLR activation in the presence of some factors, including prostaglandin E₂ (PGE₂), promotes an anti-inflammatory cytokine profile, with production of IL-10 and suppression of IL-12/23 secretion. Extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) is a key regulator of macrophage IL-10 production. Since it inhibits ERK, we investigated the impact of Sorafenib on the cytokine profile of macrophages. In the presence of PGE₂, Sorafenib restored the secretion of IL-12 and suppressed IL-10 production. Moreover, IL-12 secretion was enhanced by Sorafenib under conditions of TLR ligation alone. Furthermore, the impact of tumor culture supernatants, cholera toxin, and cAMP analogs (which suppress IL-12 secretion), was reversed by Sorafenib. Sorafenib inhibited the activation of the MAP kinase p38 and its downstream target mitogen and stress activated protein kinase (MSK), and partially inhibited protein kinase B (AKT) and its subsequent inactivation of the downstream target glycogen synthase kinase 3-β (GSK3-β). Interference with these pathways, which are pivotal in determining the balance of inflammatory versus anti-inflammatory cytokines, provides a potential mechanism by which Sorafenib can modulate the macrophage cytokine phenotype. These data raise the possibility that the use of Sorafenib as cancer therapy could potentially reverse the immunosuppressive cytokine profile of tumor-associated macrophages, rendering the tumor microenvironment more conducive to an anti-tumor immune response.
authors.affiliation: Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Department of Oncology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21231, USA.
authors.forename: Justin P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Edwards
authors.forename: Leisha A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Emens
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001557:Benzenesulfonates / Q000494:pharmacology*; D002460:Cell Line; D015232:Dinoprostone / Q000378:metabolism*; D038362:Glycogen Synthase Kinase 3 / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000378:metabolism; D000071679:Glycogen Synthase Kinase 3 beta; D016753:Interleukin-10 / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D018664:Interleukin-12 / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D008264:Macrophages / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism*; D051379:Mice; D009536:Niacinamide / Q000031:analogs & derivatives; D010671:Phenylurea Compounds; D047428:Protein Kinase Inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology; D051057:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000378:metabolism; D011725:Pyridines / Q000494:pharmacology*; D050796:STAT3 Transcription Factor / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D000077157:Sorafenib; D000071223:Suppressor of Cytokine Signaling 3 Protein; D050826:Suppressor of Cytokine Signaling Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D051193:Toll-Like Receptors / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000378:metabolism; D048051:p38 Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D001557:Benzenesulfonates; D010671:Phenylurea Compounds; D047428:Protein Kinase Inhibitors; D011725:Pyridines; D050796:STAT3 Transcription Factor; C491411:Socs3 protein, mouse; C494087:Stat3 protein, mouse; D000071223:Suppressor of Cytokine Signaling 3 Protein; D050826:Suppressor of Cytokine Signaling Proteins; D051193:Toll-Like Receptors; D016753:Interleukin-10; D018664:Interleukin-12; D009536:Niacinamide; D000077157:Sorafenib; D000071679:Glycogen Synthase Kinase 3 beta; D051057:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt; D048051:p38 Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases; D038362:Glycogen Synthase Kinase 3; D015232:Dinoprostone