1. Academic Validation
  2. RGFP966, a histone deacetylase 3 inhibitor, promotes glioma stem cell differentiation by blocking TGF-β signaling via SMAD7

RGFP966, a histone deacetylase 3 inhibitor, promotes glioma stem cell differentiation by blocking TGF-β signaling via SMAD7

  • Biochem Pharmacol. 2020 Oct;180:114118. doi: 10.1016/j.bcp.2020.114118.
Hang Liang 1 Qian Wang 1 Ding Wang 1 Hongwu Zheng 2 Dhan V Kalvakolanu 3 Hua Lu 4 Naiyan Wen 1 Xuyang Chen 1 Libo Xu 1 Jiaxin Ren 1 Baofeng Guo 5 Ling Zhang 6
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 Key Laboratory of Pathobiology, Ministry of Education, and Department of Pathophysiology, College of Basic Medical Sciences, Jilin University, Changchun 130021, PR China.
  • 2 Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY 10065, USA.
  • 3 Greenebaum NCI Comprehensive Cancer Center, Department of Microbiology and Immunology University of Maryland School Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.
  • 4 Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Tulane Cancer Center, Tulane University School of Medicine, New Orleans, LA, USA.
  • 5 Department of Plastic Surgery, China-Japan Union Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun 130033, PR China. Electronic address: gbf@jlu.edu.cn.
  • 6 Key Laboratory of Pathobiology, Ministry of Education, and Department of Pathophysiology, College of Basic Medical Sciences, Jilin University, Changchun 130021, PR China. Electronic address: zhangling3@jlu.edu.cn.
Abstract

Glioma stem cells (GSC) play a major role in drug resistance and tumor recurrence. Using a genetic screen with a set of shRNAs that can target chromatin regulators in a GSC model, we have HDAC3 as a major negative regulator of GSC differentiation. Inhibition of HDAC3 using a pharmacological inhibitor or a siRNA led to the induction of GSC differentiation into astrocytes. Consequently, HDAC3-inhibition also caused a strong reduction of tumor-promoting and self-renewal capabilities of GSCs. These phenotypes were highly associated with an increased acetylation of SMAD7, which protected its ubiquitination. SMAD7 inhibits a TGF-β signaling axis that is required for maintaining stemness. These results demonstrate that HDAC3 appears to be a proper target in anti-glioma therapy.

Keywords

Differentiation; Glioma stem cells; Growth arrest; HDAC3; SMAD7; TGF-β.

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