Aurora-B and HDAC synergistically regulate survival and proliferation of lymphoma cell via AKT, mTOR and Notch pathways.

Aurora-B is a protein kinase that functions mainly in the attachment of the mitotic spindle to the centromere. Overexpression of Aurora-B causes unequal distribution of genetic information, creating aneuploidy cells, a hallmark of cancer. Histone deacetylases (HDACs) are a class of enzymes that remove acetyl groups from a ε-N-acetyl lysine amino acid on a histone, allowing the histones to wrap the DNA more tightly, thus globally regulating gene transcription. Additionally, these HDACs can also modify non-histone proteins. Inhibition of HDACs is a potent strategy for cancer treatment. Here, we report that inhibition of Aurora-B and HDAC exerts similar tumor suppressive effects in cells. Knockdown of Aurora-B or inhibition of HDAC achieved the same effect on repression of cell proliferation. Furthermore, we found that the tumor suppressive effect of Aurora-B and HDAC inhibition is due to the induction of cell cycle arrest and/or apoptosis. Mechanistically, we demonstrated that Aurora-B and HDAC can cooperatively regulate AKT, mTOR and Notch pathways.