Leflunomide Synergizes with Gemcitabine in Growth Inhibition of Pancreatic Cancer Cells and Impairs c-Myc Signaling through PIM Kinase Targeting

The immunosuppressive agent leflunomide has been used in the treatment of over 300,000 patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Its active metabolite, teriflunomide (Ter), directly inhibits dihydroorotate dehydrogenase (DHODH), an enzyme involved in nucleoside synthesis. We report that Ter not only shows in vitro anti-proliferative activity in pancreatic cancer (PC) cells as a single agent but also synergizes with the chemotherapeutic gemcitabine (Gem) in growth inhibition of PC cells. The growth-inhibitory effects of Ter are not solely caused by inhibition of DHODH. Through a kinase screening approach, we identified the PIM-3 serine-threonine kinase as a novel direct target. Subsequent dose-response kinase assays showed that Ter directly inhibited all three PIM family members, with the highest activities against PIM-3 and -1. The PIM-3 kinase was the PIM family member most often associated with PC oncogenesis and was also the kinase inhibited the most by Ter among more than 600 kinases investigated. Ter in PC cells induced changes in phosphorylation and expression of PIM downstream targets, consistent with the effects achieved by overexpression or downregulation of PIM-3. Finally, pharmacological inhibition of PIM proteins not only diminished PC cell proliferation, but also small-molecule pan-PIM and PIM-3 inhibitors synergized with Gem in growth inhibition of PC cells.