Cooperative effect of chidamide and chemotherapeutic drugs induce apoptosis by DNA damage accumulation and repair defects in acute myeloid leukemia stem and progenitor cells

BACKGROUND: Many conventional chemotherapeutic drugs are known to be involved in DNA damage, thus ultimately leading to apoptosis of leukemic cells. However, they fail to completely eliminate leukemia stem cells (LSCs) due to their higher DNA repair capacity of cancer stem cells than that of bulk cancer cells, which becomes the root of drug resistance and leukemia recurrence. A new strategy to eliminate LSCs in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is therefore urgently needed. RESULTS: We report that a low-dose chidamide, a novel orally active benzamide-type histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor, which selectively targets HDACs 1, 2, 3, and 10, could enhance the cytotoxicity of DNA-damaging agents (daunorubicin, idarubicin, and cytarabine) in CD34(+)CD38(−) KG1α cells, CD34(+)CD38(−) Kasumi cells, and primary refractory or relapsed AML CD34(+) cells, reflected by the inhibition of cell proliferation, induction of apoptosis, and increase of cell cycle arrest in vitro. Mechanistically, these events were associated with DNA damage accumulation and repair defects. Co-treatment with chidamide and the DNA-damaging agent IDA gave rise to the production of γH2A.X and inhibited posttranslationally but not transcriptionally the repair gene of ATM, BRCA1, and checkpoint kinase 1 (CHK1) and 2 (CHK2) phosphorylation. Finally, the combination of chidamide and IDA initiated caspase-3 and PARP cleavage, but not caspase-8 and caspase-9, and ultimately induced CD34(+)CD38(−) KG1α cell apoptosis. Further analysis of AML patients’ clinical characteristics revealed that the ex vivo efficacy of chidamide in combination with IDA in primary CD34(+) samples was significantly correlated to peripheral blood WBC counts at diagnosis, while LDH levels and karyotype status had no effect, indicating that the combination regimen of chidamide and IDA could rapidly diminish tumor burden in patients with R/R AML. CONCLUSIONS: These findings provide preclinical evidence for low-dose chidamide in combination with chemotherapeutic agents in treating recurrent/resistant AML as an alternative salvage regimen, especially those possessing stem and progenitor cells. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13148-017-0377-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.