Histone deacetylase inhibitors suppress mutant p53 transcription via HDAC8/YY1 signals in triple negative breast cancer cells

There is an urgent need to investigate the potential targeted therapy approach for triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). Our present study reveals that histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACIs) suberoyl anilide hydroxamic acid (SAHA) and sodium butyrate (NaB) significantly inhibit cell proliferation, arrest cell cycle at G0/G1 phase, and induce mitochondrial related apoptosis of TNBC cells. Further, SAHA and NaB decrease the phosphorylation, protein and mRNA levels of mutant p53 (mtp53) in TNBC cells. While SAHA or NaB has no similar inhibition effect on wild type p53 (wtp53). The inhibition apparently occurs at the level of transcription because the down regulation of precursor p53 transcription is much more rapid (less than 2 h) and sharp than that of mature p53. The knockdown of HDAC8, while not HDAC6, inhibits the transcription of mtp53 in TNBC cells. The luciferase assay and ChIP analysis reveal that both SAHA and NaB can reduce the binding of transcription factor Yin Yang 1 (YY1) with the − 102 to − 96 position of human p53 promoter. Knockdown of YY1 also significantly inhibits the transcription of mtp53 in TNBC cells. Further, SAHA and NaB can inhibit the association of HDAC8 and YY1, increase acetylation of residues 170-200 of YY1, then decrease its transcription activities, and finally suppress YY1 induced p53 transcription. Together, our data establish that SAHA and NaB can be considered as drug candidates for TNBC patients, and HDAC8/YY1/mtp53 signals act as an important target for TNBC treatment.