GSE167383
CREBBP cooperates with cell cycle machinery to attenuate chidamide sensitivity in relapsed/refractory DLBCL
Frequent inactivating mutations of histone acetyltransferase CREBBP is a characteristic feature of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), highlighting the attractiveness of targeting the CREBBP deficiency as a therapeutic strategy. In this study, we demonstrate that chidamide, a novel histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor, is effective in treating a subgroup of relapsed/refractory DLBCL patients, achieving an overall response rate (ORR) of 25.0% and a complete response (CR) rate of 15.0%. However, the clinical response to chidamide remains poor as most patients exhibit resistance, hampering the clinical utility of the drug. Functional studies in both in vitro and in vivo models showed that CREBBP loss of function is correlated with chidamide sensitivity, which is associated with modulating cell cycle machinery. A combinatorial drug screening of 130 kinase inhibitors targeting cell cycle regulators identified AURKA inhibitors, which inhibited G2/M transition during cell cycling, as top candidates that synergistically enhanced antitumor effects of chidamide in CREBBP-proficient DLBCL cells. Our study demonstrated that CREBBP inactivation can serve as a potential biomarker to predict chidamide sensitivity, while a combination of AURKA inhibitor and chidamide provides a novel therapeutic strategy for the treatment of relapsed/refractory DLBCL. Overall design: RNA-seq for Karpas231 and SC1 treated with DMSO or Chidamide was performed (duplicate).