Immunomodulatory, apoptotic and anti-proliferative potentials of sildenafil in Ehrlich ascites carcinoma murine model: In vivo and in silico insights

[Display omitted] •Sildenafil partially restored the proportions of splenic lymphocytes by promoting cytotoxic and helper T lymphocytes and lowering regulatory T cells.•Sildenafil evoked good humoral immune response by stimulating the release of IFN-γ and granzyme B.•Sildenafil exerts its antitumor immunomodulatory activity by stimulating LcK and MAPK.•Sildenafil rebalanced the oxidant-antioxidant status by enhancing GSH plasma level while decreasing MDA plasma level.•Sildenafil induced apoptosis, sub G1 & G0/G1 cell cycle arrest and decreasing tumor cells' proliferation index. Sildenafil is a potent phosphodiesterase-5 (PDE5) inhibitor that effectively inhibits cGMP and increases the strength of nitric oxide. PDE5 was overexpressed in several carcinomas, including breast cancer, which inhibited tumor growth and cell division. The current research aims to investigate the in vivo sildenafil's immunomodulatory and antineoplastic potentials against Ehrlich Ascites Carcinoma. This study looked at the effects of sildenafil mono-treatment and co-treatment with cisplatin; tumor cell count, viability and the inhibition rate were determined. Apoptosis, cell cycle distribution, alterations in tumor cells and splenocytes proliferation, changes in splenocytes immunophenotyping using flowcytometry, plasma levels of malondialdehyde (MDA), reduced glutathione (GSH), interferone (IFN)-γ, granzyme B, alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), urea, creatinine and hematological alterations were detected. Additionally, docking study was conducted to get further insights on how Sildenafil exerts its activity. Sildenafil mono-treatment and co-treatment with cisplatin markedly reduced tumor cell count, viability, growth rate and proliferative capability accompanied by apoptosis enhancement and G0/G1 and sub G1 cells cycle arrest. Fortunately, sildenafil evoked efficient cellular immune response by increasing plasma levels of granzyme B and IFN-γ, proportion of splenic T cytotoxic (CD3+CD8+) and T helper (CD3+CD4+), accompanied by decrease in the proportion of splenic regulatory T cells. . Moreover, in silico data suggest LcK and MAPKs as the potential targets of sildenafil. Furthermore, sildenafil rebalanced the oxidant-antioxidant status by decreasing MDA and increasing GSH plasma levels. Sildenafil successfully retrieved various hematological values besides renal and hepatic functions in EAC-bearing animals. In conclusion, our results suggest that silde