Histone deacetylase 3 overexpression in human cholangiocarcinoma and promotion of cell growth via apoptosis inhibition

Histone deacetylase 3 (HDAC3) has an oncogenic role in apoptosis and contributes to the proliferation of cancer cells. MI192 is a novel HDAC3-specific inhibitor that displays antitumor activity in many cancer cell lines. However, the role of HDAC3 and the antitumor activity of its inhibitor MI192 are not known in cholangiocarcinoma (CCA). The present study aims to identify the target of MI192 in CCA as well as evaluate its therapeutic efficacy. CCK8 and colony formation assays showed that HDAC3 overexpression promotes proliferation in CCA cell lines. HDAC3 knockdown or treatment with MI192 decreased CCA cell growth and increased caspase-dependent apoptosis, while apoptosis was partially rescued by HDAC3 overexpression. We demonstrated that MI192 can inhibit the deacetylation activity of HDAC3 and its downstream targets in vitro, and MI192 inhibited xenograft tumor growth in vivo. Immunochemistry showed that HDAC3 was upregulated in CCA tissues compared with adjacent normal tissues, and this was correlated with reduced patient survival. Taken together, these results demonstrate for the first time that MI192 targets HDAC3 and induces apoptosis in human CCA cells. MI192 therefore shows the potential as a new drug candidate for CCA therapy.