In vitro and in vivo antitumor activity of a novel immunomodulatory drug, leflunomide: mechanisms of action.

Leflunomide, a novel immunomodulatory drug, has two biochemical activities: inhibition of tyrosine phosphorylation and inhibition of pyrimidine nucleotide synthesis. In the present study, we first showed that A77 1726 [N-(4-trifluoromethylphenyl-2-cyano-3-hydroxycrotoamide)], the active metabolite of leflunomide, was more effective at inhibiting the tyrosine kinase activity of platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) receptor than that of epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptor, and had no effect on the tyrosine kinase activity of the fibroblast growth factor receptor. In the presence of exogenous uridine, A77 1726 was more effective at inhibiting the PDGF-stimulated proliferation of PDGF receptor-overexpressing C6 glioma than the EGF-stimulated proliferation of EGF receptor-overexpressing A431 cells. In vivo studies demonstrated that leflunomide treatment strongly inhibited the growth of the C6 glioma but had only a modest effect on the growth of the A431 tumor. Uridine co-administered with leflunomide did not reverse the antitumor activity of leflunomide on C6 and A431 tumors significantly. Quantitation of nucleotide levels in the tumor tissue revealed that leflunomide treatment significantly reduced pyrimidine nucleotide levels in the fast-growing C6 glioma but had no effect on the relatively slow-growing A431 tumor. Whereas uridine co-administration normalized pyrimidine nucleotide levels, it had minimal effects on the antitumor activity of leflunomide in both tumor models. Immunohistochemical analysis revealed that leflunomide treatment significantly reduced the number of proliferating cell nuclear antigen-positive cells in C6 glioma, and that uridine only partially reversed this inhibition. These results collectively suggest that the in vivo antitumor effect of leflunomide is largely independent of its inhibitory effect on pyrimidine nucleotide synthesis. The possibility that leflunomide exerts its antitumor activity by inhibition of tyrosine phosphorylation or by a yet unidentified mode of action is discussed.