Characterisation of the novel apoptotic and therapeutic activities of the histone deacetylase inhibitor romidepsin

Abstract

Histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACi) are compounds that target the epigenome and cause tumor cell-selective apoptosis. A large number of these agents that have different chemical structures and can target multiple HDACs are being testing in clinical trials and vorinostat is now an approved drug for the treatment of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma. Although these agents are showing promise for the treatment of hematologic malignancies, it is possible that different drugs may have different mechanistic, biological, and therapeutic activities. When comparing an HDACi belonging to the hydroxamic acid class of compounds (vorinostat) with a cyclic tetrapeptide (romidepsin), we showed that these agents..