Role of Histone deacetylases (HDACs) in human cancer

Abstract

Histone modification is the form of epigenetic control, which is quite complex and diverse. The regulation of gene expression and the balance of histone acetylation and deacetylation is an epigenetic layer can be maintained by the post translational modifications of core histones. Histone acetylation is an important mechanism for the control of eukaryotic transcription. Acccumulated evidence shows that aberrant regulation of histone deacetylase is one of the major causes of development of human malignancies.HDAC modulates gene expression by chromatin remodelling during malignant transformation and represses transcription by deacetylating histone. Altered expression and mutations of genes that encodes HDACs have been linked to tumor development since they both induce aberrant transcription of key genes regulating important cellular functions such as cell proliferation, cell-cycle regulation and apoptosis. Among different isoenzymes of HDAC, how HDAC1 is causing carcinogenesis in solid tumors is little unknown. The aim of this study was to check the expression of HDAC1 for the regulation of malignant behavior in lymph node cancer cell.HDAC1 showed expression in the cancer cell indicating the involvement of HDAC1 in the inactivation of certain genes playing role in lymph node metastasis.