Effective Targeting of Quiescent Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia Stem Cells by Histone Deacetylase Inhibitors in Combination with Imatinib Mesylate

We investigated the ability of HDAC inhibitors (HDACi) to target CML stem cells. Treatment with HDACi combined with IM effectively induced apoptosis in quiescent CML progenitors resistant to elimination by IM alone, and eliminated CML stem cells capable of engrafting immunodeficient mice. In vivo administration of HDACi with IM markedly diminished LSC in a transgenic mouse model of CML. The interaction of IM and HDACi inhibited genes regulating hematopoietic stem cell maintenance and survival. HDACi treatment represents a novel and effective strategy to target LSC in CML patients receiving tyrosine kinase inhibitors.

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Zhang B, Strauss AC, Chu S, Li M, Ho Y, Shiang KD, Snyder DS, Huettner CS, Shultz L, Holyoake T, Bhatia R