Histone deacetylase inhibitors modulate renal cell carcinoma sensitivity to TRAIL/Apo-2L-induced apoptosis by enhancing TRAIL-R2 expression.

Every year, 12,000 people in the U.S. die from renal cell carcinoma. Current therapies include partial or complete nephrectomy or treatments such as administration of IFN-alpha and/or interleukins that are moderately effective, at best. Moreover, the current therapies are invasive and inefficient and new therapies are needed. Histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors have recently been found to sensitize cells to apoptosis-inducing agents, although the mechanism of this action is largely unknown. The current study has investigated the potential of using five different histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACI) (depsipeptide, MS-275, oxamflatin, sodium butyrate, and trichostatin A) to sensitize TNF-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL)/Apo-2L-resistant renal cell carcinoma cells to TRAIL/Apo-2L-induced apoptosis. Sodium butyrate and trichostatin A each enhanced TRAIL/Apo-2L-mediated tumor cell death to a greater extent than the other HDACI. Annexin V staining and caspase activity demonstrated the mechanism of cell death was apoptosis. Both sodium butyrate and trichostatin A treatment also increased mRNA and surface expression of TRAIL receptor 2 that was dependent on the transcription factor Sp1, thus providing a possible mechanism behind the increased sensitivity to TRAIL/Apo-2L. These results indicate that combination therapy of HDACI, such as sodium butyrate and trichostatin A, and TRAIL/Apo-2L has great potential for an efficient alternative therapy for renal cell carcinoma.