Acetylation of p53 is involved in VPA induced death of AML cells

Histone deacetylases (HDACs) coordinate complex expression patterns by removing acetyl groups from histone and non-histone proteins. Impaired acetylation level, due to increased HDAC activity often relates to pathological malignancies. Thus, efforts have been made to find compounds that inhibit HDAC activity, hence modifying cellular signalling pathways relevant for leukemogenesis. The anticonvulsant valproic acid (VPA) has been shown to be an efficient HDAC inhibitor (HDACI), able to induce apoptosis in AML cells and has recently entered clinical trials as a potential chemotherapeutic agent. Mutation of p53 gen…