Diminished PKC activity and decreased binding of transcription factors are involved in the impaired production of nitric oxide by macrophages from tumor-bearing mice.

In previous studies we have shown that peritoneal macrophages (PEM) from mammary tumor-bearing BALB/c mice (T-PEM) display a diminished ability to lyse tumor cells upon stimulation with LPS, a phenomenon that is associated to a lower production of nitric oxide, and that is reverted upon costimulation with IFN-gamma. The reduced lytic activity and NO production displayed by T-PEM upon LPS activation were earlier shown by us to be due to a diminished transcription of the inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) gene. In the present study, we have investigated the participation of possible signaling molecules and transcription factors - PKC, NF-kappaB, C/EBP and IRF-1 - in the downregulation of NO production in LPS-activated T-PEM.