Mammalian target of rapamycin and glycogen synthase kinase 3 differentially regulate lipopolysaccharide-induced interleukin-12 production in dendritic cells.

Phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) negatively regulates Toll-like receptor (TLR)-mediated interleukin-12 (IL-12) expression in dendritic cells (DCs). We show here that 2 signaling pathways downstream of PI3K, mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) and glycogen synthase kinase 3 (GSK3), differentially regulate the expression of IL-12 in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated DCs. Rapamycin, an inhibitor of mTOR, enhanced IL-12 production in LPS-stimulated DCs, whereas the activation of mTOR by lentivirus-mediated transduction of a constitutively active form of Rheb suppressed the production of IL-12. The inhibition of protein secretion or deletion of IL-10 cancelled the effect of rapamycin, indicating that mTOR regulates IL-12 expression through an autocrine action of IL-10. In contrast, GSK3 positively regulates IL-12 production through an IL-10-independent pathway. Rapamycin-treated DCs enhanced Th1 induction in vitro compared with untreated DCs. LiCl, an inhibitor of GSK3, suppressed a Th1 response on Leishmania major infection in vivo. These results suggest that mTOR and GSK3 pathways regulate the Th1/Th2 balance though the regulation of IL-12 expression in DCs. The signaling pathway downstream of PI3K would be a good target to modulate the Th1/Th2 balance in immune responses in vivo.