scholarly journals Targeting Histone Deacetylases: Opportunities for Cancer Treatment and Chemoprevention

Pharmaceutics ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 209
Author(s):  
Dusan Ruzic ◽  
Nemanja Djoković ◽  
Tatjana Srdić-Rajić ◽  
Cesar Echeverria ◽  
Katarina Nikolic ◽  
...  

The dysregulation of gene expression is a critical event involved in all steps of tumorigenesis. Aberrant histone and non-histone acetylation modifications of gene expression due to the abnormal activation of histone deacetylases (HDAC) have been reported in hematologic and solid types of cancer. In this sense, the cancer-associated epigenetic alterations are promising targets for anticancer therapy and chemoprevention. HDAC inhibitors (HDACi) induce histone hyperacetylation within target proteins, altering cell cycle and proliferation, cell differentiation, and the regulation of cell death programs. Over the last three decades, an increasing number of synthetic and naturally derived compounds, such as dietary-derived products, have been demonstrated to act as HDACi and have provided biological and molecular insights with regard to the role of HDAC in cancer. The first part of this review is focused on the biological roles of the Zinc-dependent HDAC family in malignant diseases. Accordingly, the small-molecules and natural products such as HDACi are described in terms of cancer therapy and chemoprevention. Furthermore, structural considerations are included to improve the HDACi selectivity and combinatory potential with other specific targeting agents in bifunctional inhibitors and proteolysis targeting chimeras. Additionally, clinical trials that combine HDACi with current therapies are discussed, which may open new avenues in terms of the feasibility of HDACi’s future clinical applications in precision cancer therapies.

Cancers ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 1664 ◽  
Author(s):  
Flávia Alves Verza ◽  
Umashankar Das ◽  
Ana Lúcia Fachin ◽  
Jonathan R. Dimmock ◽  
Mozart Marins

Histones are the main structural proteins of eukaryotic chromatin. Histone acetylation/ deacetylation are the epigenetic mechanisms of the regulation of gene expression and are catalyzed by histone acetyltransferases (HAT) and histone deacetylases (HDAC). These epigenetic alterations of DNA structure influence the action of transcription factors which can induce or repress gene transcription. The HATs catalyze acetylation and the events related to gene transcription and are also responsible for transporting newly synthesized histones from the cytoplasm to the nucleus. The activity of HDACs is mainly involved in silencing gene expression and according to their specialized functions are divided into classes I, II, III and IV. The disturbance of the expression and mutations of HDAC genes causes the aberrant transcription of key genes regulating important cancer pathways such as cell proliferation, cell-cycle regulation and apoptosis. In view of their role in cancer pathways, HDACs are considered promising therapeutic targets and the development of HDAC inhibitors is a hot topic in the search for new anticancer drugs. The present review will focus on HDACs I, II and IV, the best known inhibitors and potential alternative inhibitors derived from natural and synthetic products which can be used to influence HDAC activity and the development of new cancer therapies.


Author(s):  
Priyadarshni Patel ◽  
Jeganathan Ramesh Babu ◽  
Xu Wang ◽  
Thangiah Geetha

Obesity is caused by a combination of hereditary and environmental factors. Despite extensive study, contemporary through diet, exercise, education, surgery, and pharmacological treatments, no effective long-term solution has been found to this epidemic. Over the last decade, there has been a tremendous advancement in understanding the science of epigenetics, as well as a rise in public interest in learning more about the influence of diet and lifestyle choices on the health of an individual. Without affecting the underlying DNA sequence, epigenetic alterations impact gene expression. Previous animal studies have shown a link between the type of diet and expression or suppression of obesity genes, but there are very few human studies that demonstrate the relationship between dietary intake and obesity gene expression. This review highlights the effects of carbohydrates, lipids, and protein intake from the diet on obesity-related genes.


Nutrients ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (8) ◽  
pp. 1120 ◽  
Author(s):  
Levi Evans ◽  
Bradley Ferguson

Approximately 5.7 million U.S. adults have been diagnosed with heart failure (HF). More concerning is that one in nine U.S. deaths included HF as a contributing cause. Current HF drugs (e.g., β-blockers, ACEi) target intracellular signaling cascades downstream of cell surface receptors to prevent cardiac pump dysfunction. However, these drugs fail to target other redundant intracellular signaling pathways and, therefore, limit drug efficacy. As such, it has been postulated that compounds designed to target shared downstream mediators of these signaling pathways would be more efficacious for the treatment of HF. Histone deacetylation has been linked as a key pathogenetic element for the development of HF. Lysine residues undergo diverse and reversible post-translational modifications that include acetylation and have historically been studied as epigenetic modifiers of histone tails within chromatin that provide an important mechanism for regulating gene expression. Of recent, bioactive compounds within our diet have been linked to the regulation of gene expression, in part, through regulation of the epi-genome. It has been reported that food bioactives regulate histone acetylation via direct regulation of writer (histone acetyl transferases, HATs) and eraser (histone deacetylases, HDACs) proteins. Therefore, bioactive food compounds offer unique therapeutic strategies as epigenetic modifiers of heart failure. This review will highlight food bio-actives as modifiers of histone deacetylase activity in the heart.


Cancers ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (12) ◽  
pp. 3716
Author(s):  
Ralf Hass ◽  
Juliane von der Ohe ◽  
Hendrik Ungefroren

Tumor heterogeneity is considered the major cause of treatment failure in current cancer therapies. This feature of solid tumors is not only the result of clonal outgrowth of cells with genetic mutations, but also of epigenetic alterations induced by physical and chemical signals from the tumor microenvironment (TME). Besides fibroblasts, endothelial and immune cells, mesenchymal stroma/stem-like cells (MSCs) and tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) intimately crosstalk with cancer cells and can exhibit both anti- and pro-tumorigenic effects. MSCs can alter cancer cellular phenotypes to increase cancer cell plasticity, eventually resulting in the generation of cancer stem cells (CSCs). The shift between different phenotypic states (phenotype switching) of CSCs is controlled via both genetic programs, such as epithelial-mesenchymal transdifferentiation or retrodifferentiation, and epigenetic alterations triggered by signals from the TME, like hypoxia, spatial heterogeneity or stromal cell-derived chemokines. Finally, we highlight the role of spontaneous cancer cell fusion with various types of stromal cells. i.e., MSCs in shaping CSC plasticity. A better understanding of cell plasticity and phenotype shifting in CSCs is a prerequisite for exploiting this phenomenon to reduce tumor heterogeneity, thereby improving the chance for therapy success.


Biochemistry ◽  
1994 ◽  
Vol 33 (14) ◽  
pp. 4197-4206 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Schlake ◽  
Dagmar Klehr-Wirth ◽  
Minoru Yoshida ◽  
Teruhiko Beppu ◽  
Juergen Bode

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 57-62
Author(s):  
Masumeh Sanaei ◽  
Fraidoon Kavoosi

Objective: DNA methylation, the covalent addition of a methyl group to cytosine, and histone modification play an important role in the establishment and maintenance of the program of gene expression. The balance of histone acetylation is determined by the activities of two groups of enzymes including histone acetyltransferases (HATs) and histone deacetylases (HDACs). Histone deacetylation is generally associated with silencing gene expression resulting in several solid tumors. HDAC inhibitors (HDACIs) are the new class of potential anticancer compounds for the treatment of the solid and hematological cancers. The current study was designed to evaluate the effect of trichostatin A (TSA) on histone deacetylases 1, 2 and 3, p21Cip1/Waf1/Sdi1 (p21), p27Kip1 (p27), and p57Kip2 (p57) gene expression in breast cancer SK-BR-3 cell line. Materials and Methods: The breast cancer SK-BR-3 line was treated with TSA. To determine cell viability, cell apoptosis, and the relative expression level of the genes, MTT assay, cell apoptosis assay, and qRT-PCR were done respectively. Results: TSA significantly inhibited cell growth, and induced apoptosis. Furthermore, this compound increased p21, p27, and p57 and decreased histone deacetylases 1, 2 and 3 gene expression significantly. Conclusion: The TSA can reactivate the p21, p27, and p57 through down-regulation of histone deacetylases 1, 2 and 3 gene expression.


Blood ◽  
2000 ◽  
Vol 96 (4) ◽  
pp. 1490-1495 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuko Koyama ◽  
Masaaki Adachi ◽  
Masuo Sekiya ◽  
Mutsuhiro Takekawa ◽  
Kohzoh Imai

Histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors can induce transcriptional activation of a number of genes and induce cellular differentiation as histone acetylation levels increase. Although these inhibitors induce apoptosis in several cell lines, the precise mechanism by which they do so remains obscure. This study shows that HDAC inhibitors, sodium butyrate and trichostatin A (TSA), abrogate interleukin (IL)-2–mediated gene expression in IL-2–dependent cells. The HDAC inhibitors readily induced apoptosis in IL-2–dependent ILT-Mat cells and BAF-B03 transfectants expressing the IL-2 receptor βc chain, whereas they induced far less apoptosis in cytokine-independent K562 cells. However, these inhibitors similarly increased acetylation levels of histones in both cells. Although histone hyperacetylation is believed to lead to transcriptional activation, the results showed an abrogation of IL-2–mediated induction of c-myc,bag-1, and LC-PTP gene expression. This observed abrogation of gene expression occurred prior to phosphatidylserine externalization, a process that occurs in early apoptotic cells. Considering the biologic role played by IL-2–mediated gene expression in cell survival, these data suggest that its abrogation may contribute to the apoptotic process induced by HDAC inhibitors.


2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (40) ◽  
pp. 7212-7280 ◽  
Author(s):  
Faria Sultana ◽  
Kesari Lakshmi Manasa ◽  
Siddiq Pasha Shaik ◽  
Srinivasa Reddy Bonam ◽  
Ahmed Kamal

Background: Histone deacetylases (HDAC) are an important class of enzymes that play a pivotal role in epigenetic regulation of gene expression that modifies the terminal of core histones leading to remodelling of chromatin topology and thereby controlling gene expression. HDAC inhibitors (HDACi) counter this action and can result in hyperacetylation of histones, thereby inducing an array of cellular consequences such as activation of apoptotic pathways, generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), cell cycle arrest and autophagy. Hence, there is a growing interest in the potential clinical use of HDAC inhibitors as a new class of targeted cancer therapeutics. Methodology and Result: Several research articles spanning between 2016 and 2017 were reviewed in this article and presently offer critical insights into the important strategies such as structure-based rational drug design, multi-parameter lead optimization methodologies, relevant SAR studies and biology of various class of HDAC inhibitors, such as hydroxamic acids, benzamides, cyclic peptides, aliphatic acids, summarising the clinical trials and results of various combination drug therapy till date. Conclusion: This review will provide a platform to the synthetic chemists and biologists to cater the needs of both molecular targeted therapy and combination drug therapy to design and synthesize safe and selective HDAC inhibitors in cancer therapeutics.


2016 ◽  
Vol 310 (11) ◽  
pp. G1155-G1168 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maribel Arteaga ◽  
Na Shang ◽  
Xianzhong Ding ◽  
Sherri Yong ◽  
Scott J. Cotler ◽  
...  

Liver fibrosis can progress to cirrhosis and result in serious complications of liver disease. The pathogenesis of liver fibrosis involves the activation of hepatic stellate cells (HSCs), the underlying mechanisms of which are not fully known. Emerging evidence suggests that the classic histone deacetylases play a role in liver fibrosis, but the role of another subfamily of histone deacetylases, the sirtuins, in the development of hepatic fibrosis remains unknown. In this study, we found that blocking the activity of sirtuin 2 (SIRT2) by using inhibitors or shRNAs significantly suppressed fibrogenic gene expression in HSCs. We further demonstrated that inhibition of SIRT2 results in the degradation of c-MYC, which is important for HSC activation. In addition, we discovered that inhibition of SIRT2 suppresses the phosphorylation of ERK, which is critical for the stabilization of c-MYC. Moreover, we found that Sirt2 deficiency attenuates the hepatic fibrosis induced by carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) and thioacetamide (TAA). Furthermore, we showed that SIRT2, p-ERK, and c-MYC proteins are all overexpressed in human hepatic fibrotic tissues. These data suggest a critical role for the SIRT2/ERK/c-MYC axis in promoting hepatic fibrogenesis. Inhibition of the SIRT2/ERK/c-MYC axis represents a novel strategy to prevent and to potentially treat liver fibrosis and cirrhosis.


2003 ◽  
Vol 370 (3) ◽  
pp. 737-749 ◽  
Author(s):  
Annemieke J.M. de RUIJTER ◽  
Albert H. van GENNIP ◽  
Huib N. CARON ◽  
Stephan KEMP ◽  
André B.P. van KUILENBURG

Transcriptional regulation in eukaryotes occurs within a chromatin setting, and is strongly influenced by the post-translational modification of histones, the building blocks of chromatin, such as methylation, phosphorylation and acetylation. Acetylation is probably the best understood of these modifications: hyperacetylation leads to an increase in the expression of particular genes, and hypoacetylation has the opposite effect. Many studies have identified several large, multisubunit enzyme complexes that are responsible for the targeted deacetylation of histones. The aim of this review is to give a comprehensive overview of the structure, function and tissue distribution of members of the classical histone deacetylase (HDAC) family, in order to gain insight into the regulation of gene expression through HDAC activity. SAGE (serial analysis of gene expression) data show that HDACs are generally expressed in almost all tissues investigated. Surprisingly, no major differences were observed between the expression pattern in normal and malignant tissues. However, significant variation in HDAC expression was observed within tissue types. HDAC inhibitors have been shown to induce specific changes in gene expression and to influence a variety of other processes, including growth arrest, differentiation, cytotoxicity and induction of apoptosis. This challenging field has generated many fascinating results which will ultimately lead to a better understanding of the mechanism of gene transcription as a whole.


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