Histone deacetylase inhibitor trichostatin A induces cell-cycle arrest/apoptosis and hepatocyte differentiation in human hepatoma cells.

Remodeling of the chromatin template by inhibition of HDAC activities represents a potential transcriptional therapy for neoplastic disease. A number of HDAC inhibitors that modulate in vitro cell growth and differentiation have been developed. We analyzed the effects of TSA, a specific and potent HDAC inhibitor, on the human hepatoma cell lines HepG2 and Huh-7. TSA increased levels of acetylated histones H3 and H4 in both HepG2 and Huh-7. It inhibited cell proliferation in vitro and induced G(0)/G(1) arrest in HepG2 and apoptosis in Huh-7. Gene expression of liver-specific functions and liver-enriched transcription factors was upregulated by TSA. TSA upregulated the ammonia removal rate and the albumin synthesis rate of HepG2 and Huh-7. Our results indicate that TSA can induce cell-cycle arrest/apoptosis and hepatocyte differentiation in human liver cancer cell lines. Copyright 2002 Wiley-Liss, Inc.