HDAC6: physiological function and its selective inhibitors for cancer treatment.

Acetylation and deacetylation of histones are important in regulating gene expression and play a key role in modification of gene transcription. Specific HDACs isoforms can be regarded as a target for cancer therapy avoiding side-effects, HDAC6 with a unique physiological function and structure has become a hot issue recently. The unique isoform HDAC6 is involved in tumorigenesis, development and metastasis through tubulin, HSP90, invasin and ubiquitin-protein. Here we review the structure elements, biological function, and recent selective inhibitors of HDAC6, and study the structure-activity and structure-selectivity relationship.