Therapeutic Opportunities of Targeting Histone Deacetylase Isoforms to Eradicate Cancer Stem Cells.

Cancer stem cells (CSCs), or tumor-initiating cells, are a small subset of cancer cells with the capacity for self-renewal and differentiation, which have been shown to drive tumor initiation, progression, and metastasis in many types of cancer. Moreover, therapeutic regimens, such as cisplatin and radiation were reported to induce the enrichment of CSCs, thereby conferring chemoresistance on cancer cells. Therefore, therapeutic targeting of CSCs represents a clinical challenge that needs to be addressed to improve patient outcome. In this context, the effectiveness of pan or class-I histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors in suppressing the CSC population is especially noteworthy in light of the new paradigm of combination therapy. Evidence suggests that this anti-CSC activity is associated with the ability of HDAC inhibitors to target multiple signaling pathways at different molecular levels. Beyond chromatin remodeling via histone acetylation, HDAC inhibitors can also block key signaling pathways pertinent to CSC maintenance. Especially noteworthy is the ability of different HDAC isoforms to regulate the protein stability and/or activity of a series of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT)-inducing transcription factors, including HIF-1α, Stat3, Notch1, ß-catenin, NF-κB, and c-Jun, each of which plays a critical role in regulating CSCs. From the translational perspective, these mechanistic links constitute a rationale to develop isoform-selective HDAC inhibitors as anti-CSC agents. Thus, this review aims to provide an overview on the roles of HDAC isoforms in maintaining CSC homeostasis via distinct signaling pathways independent of histone acetylation.

Targeting breast cancer stem cells by novel HDAC3-selective inhibitors.

Although histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors have been known to suppress the cancer stem cell (CSC) population in multiple types of cancer cells, it remains unclear which HDAC isoforms and corresponding mechanisms contribute to this anti-CSC activity. Pursuant to our previous finding that HDAC8 regulates CSCs in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) cells by targeting Notch1 stability, we investigated related pathways and found HDAC3 to be mechanistically linked to CSC homeostasis by increasing ß-catenin expression through the Akt/GSK3ß pathway. Accordingly, we used a pan-HDAC inhibitor, AR-42 (1), as a scaffold to develop HDAC3-selective inhibitors, obtaining the proof-of-concept with 18 and 28. These two derivatives exhibited high potency and isoform selectivity in HDAC3 inhibition. Equally important, they showed in vitro and/or in vivo efficacy in suppressing the CSC subpopulation of TNBC cells via the downregulation of ß-catenin.

alpha-Tocopheryl succinate as a scaffold to develop potent inhibitors of breast cancer cell adhesion.

This study is aimed at the pharmacological exploitation of alpha-tocopheryl succinate (1) to develop potent antiadhesion agents. Considering the structural cooperativity between the phytyl chain and the carboxylic terminus in determining the antiadhesion activity, our structural optimization led to compound 5 ([2-(4,8-dimethyl-non-1-enyl)-2,5,7,8-tetramethyl-chroman-6-yloxy]-acetic acid), which exhibited an-order-of-magnitude higher potency than 1 in blocking the adhesion of 4T1 metastatic breast cancer cells to extracellular matrix proteins (IC(50), 0.6 microM versus 10 microM). Evidence indicates that the ability of compound 5 to block cell adhesion and migration was attributable to its effect on disrupting focal adhesion and actin cytoskeletal integrity by facilitating the degradation of focal adhesion kinase. Interactions between tumor cells and the ECM in the tumor microenvironment have been increasingly recognized as critical modulators of the metastatic potential of tumor cells. Consequently, the ability of compound 5 to block such interactions provides a unique pharmacological tool to shed light onto mechanisms that govern cell adhesion and tumor metastasis.