Effective depletion of hepatic cancer stem-like cells by NF-kB mediated inhibiton of histone deacetylases

Over the past few years, compelling evidence has emerged in support of the hierarchic cancer stem cell (CSC) model for many solid tumors, including hepatocellular cancers. We have recently identified a CSC gene signature that exhibited a pernicious interaction with a variety of key oncogenic and common stemness pathways. Among these common pathways, activation of NF-kB signaling was consistently observed in human liver CSCs. Based on these data, we hypothesized that NF-kB may be a specific therapeutic target against CSC. In this study, we evaluated whether the inhibition of NF-kB would selectively deplete liver…