Histone deacetylases expression in atypical teratoid rhabdoid tumors.

PURPOSE

Atypical teratoid rhabdoid tumors (ATRTs) are rare, highly malignant central nervous system tumors that occur during infancy and early childhood. Their poor outcome and resistance to conventional chemotherapies and radiotherapy, urges the development of new therapies. Recent studies have evaluated the effects of histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACi) as a new potential treatment for ATRTs. However, most HDACi act unselectively against all, or at least several, histone deacetylase (HDAC) family members. We hypothesized that specific HDAC family members are deregulated in ATRT and therefore a more selective class of HDACi would be beneficial to patients with ATRT.

METHODS

To test our hypothesis, we evaluated the expression level of different HDAC family members in ATRTs. Eight ATRTs were compared to six medulloblastoma samples in regards to the level of expression of the 18 HDAC family members as determined by microarray gene expression profiling.

RESULTS

HDAC1 was the only member of the HDAC family to be significantly differentially expressed in ATRTs (FC = 4.728; p value = 0.00003).

CONCLUSIONS

A class of HDACi specifically targeting HDAC1 may allow for the desired therapeutic benefits with fewer side effects for children with ATRT.