Amlexanox targeted inhibition of TBK1 regulates immune cell function to exacerbate DSS-induced inflammatory bowel disease

Amlexanox (ALX) is a small-molecule drug for the treatment of inflammatory, autoimmune, metabolic, and tumor diseases. At present, there are no studies on whether ALX has a therapeutic effect on inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). In this study, we used a mouse model of dextran sulfate sodium-induced colitis to investigate the effect of ALX-targeted inhibition of TBK1 on colitis. We found that the severity of colitis in mice was correlated with TBK1 expression. Notably, although ALX inhibited the activation of the TBK1-NF-κB/TBK1-IRF3 pro-inflammatory signaling pathway, it exacerbated colitis and reduced survival in mice. The results of drug safety experiments ruled out a relationship between this exacerbating effect and drug toxicity. In addition, ELISA results showed that ALX promoted the secretion of IL-1β and IFN-α, and inhibited the production of cytokines IL-6, TNF-α, IL-10, TGF-β, and secretory IgA. Flow cytometry results further showed that ALX promoted T-cell proliferation, activation, and differentiation, and thus played a pro-inflammatory role; also, ALX inhibited the generation of dendritic cells and the polarization of macrophages to M1 type, thus exerting anti-inflammatory effect. These data suggest that the regulation of ALX on the function of different immune cells is different, so the effect on the inflammatory response is bidirectional. In conclusion, our study demonstrates that simply inhibiting TBK1 in all immune cells is not effective for the treatment of colitis. Further investigation of the anti-inflammatory mechanism of ALX on dendritic cells and macrophages may provide a new strategy for the treatment of IBD.