Background: Recently, the use of histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACI) with gene therapy has been shown to improve the effect of this therapy. The effectiveness of one of the novel HDACIs, FK228, was examined in adenovirus-mediated p53 gene therapy of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC).
Materials and methods: The expression levels of coxsackie and adenovirus receptor (CAR) in ESCC patients were examined immunohistochemically. CAR induction by FK228 in ESCC cells was analyzed by real-time PCR and Western blotting. The efficiencies of adenoviral transduction treated with FK228 were determined using AV1.0CMV-betagal. The acetylation of p53 protein was detected by Western blotting.
Results: CAR expression was reduced in some tumor specimens compared to that in normal specimens. CAR expression was increased by FK228 in both in vitro and in vivo experiments. FK228 improved the efficiency of adenovirus infection. Acetylated p53 protein was increased in a dose- and a time-dependent manner.
Conclusion: Our findings suggest that FK228 has a potent ability to augment the effect of adenovirus-mediated p53 gene therapy in ESCC cells.