Role of Histone Deacetylases in Carcinogenesis: Potential Role in Cholangiocarcinoma

Cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) is a highly invasive and metastatic form of carcinoma with bleak prognosis due to limited therapies, frequent relapse, and chemotherapy resistance. There is an urgent need to identify the molecular regulators of CCA in order to develop novel therapeutics and advance diseases diagnosis. Many cellular proteins including histones may undergo a series of enzyme-mediated post-translational modifications including acetylation, methylation, phosphorylation, sumoylation, and crotonylation. Histone deacetylases (HDACs) play an important role in regulating epigenetic maintenance and modifications of their targets, which in turn exert critical impacts on chromatin structure, gene expression, and stability of proteins. As such, HDACs constitute a group of potential therapeutic targets for CCA. The aim of this review was to summarize the role that HDACs perform in regulating epigenetic changes, tumor development, and their potential as therapeutic targets for CCA.