A novel histone deacetylase inhibitor Chidamide induces apoptosis of human colon cancer cells

Many studies have demonstrated that histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors induce various tumor cells to undergo apoptosis, and such inhibitors have been used in different clinical trials against different human cancers. In this study, we designed and synthesized a novel HDAC inhibitor, Chidamide. We showed that Chidamide was able to increase the acetylation levels of histone H3 and to inhibit the PI3K/Akt and MAPK/Ras signaling pathways, which resulted in arresting colon cancer cells at the G1 phase of the cell cycle and promoting apoptosis. As a result, the proliferation of colon cancer cells was suppressed in vitro. Our data support the potential application of Chidamide as an anticancer agent in treating colon cancer. Future studies are needed to demonstrate its in vivo efficacy.     

Design,synthesis and biological evaluation of 4-piperazinyl-containing Chidamide derivatives as HDACs inhibitors

The synthesis and biological evaluation of a variety of 4-piperazinyl-containing Chidamide derivatives is described. Some of these compounds were shown to inhibit HDAC1 with IC₅₀ values below micromolar range, and inhibited proliferation of several human cancer cells, not possessing toxicity to human normal cells and hERG K⁺ ion channels. Compound 9g, proved to be the most potent and efficacious derivative in this series, was orally active in an HCT116 xenograft model in vivo.