Histone deacetylase inhibitor abexinostat affects chromatin organization and gene transcription in normal B cells and in mantle cell lymphoma.

Mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) is a rare lymphoma caused by the t(11:14) juxtaposing the cyclin D1 (CCND1) locus on chromosome 11 and the immunoglobulin heavy chain (IgH) locus on chromosome 14. Several new treatments are proposed for MCL, including histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACi). We have studied gene expression and chromatin organization in the translocated 11q13 locus in MCL cells as compared to lymphoblastoid cell lines as well as the effect of HDACi abexinostat on chromatin organization and gene expression in the 11q13 locus. We have identified a cluster of genes overexpressed in the translocation region on chromosome 11 in MCL cells. Abexinostat provokes a genome-wide disaggregation of heterochromatin. The genes upregulated after the t(11;14) translocation react to the HDACi treatment by increasing their expression, but their gene promoters do not show significant alterations in H3K9Ac and H3K9me2 levels in abexinostat-treated cells.