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Methylation-induced suppression of YAP/TAZ confers sensitivity to HDAC inhibitors in high-grade IDH mutant gliomas
Thomas K. Sears, … , Jann N. Sarkaria, Craig M. Horbinski
Thomas K. Sears, … , Jann N. Sarkaria, Craig M. Horbinski
Published October 9, 2025
Citation Information: JCI Insight. 2025;10(22):e195385. https://doi.org/10.1172/jci.insight.195385.
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Research Article Cell biology Oncology

Methylation-induced suppression of YAP/TAZ confers sensitivity to HDAC inhibitors in high-grade IDH mutant gliomas

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Abstract

IDH1/2 mutations (IDHmut) increase methylation of DNA and histones in gliomas. IDHmut inhibitors are effective against low-grade IDHmut gliomas, but new strategies against high-grade IDHmut gliomas are needed. Although histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACi) are ineffective against IDHwt glioblastoma (GBM), their potential in IDHmut gliomas has not been extensively studied. We previously established that IDHmut gliomas are more sensitive to HDACi than IDHwt GBM. Here we show that IDHmut is associated with greater sensitivity to HDACi only in glioma, not in IDHmut chondrosarcoma or cholangiocarcinoma. While HDACi induced more histone acetylation and gene regulation in IDHmut glioma than in IDHwt GBM, such acetylation was mostly within gene deserts, whereas IDHmut glioma promoters paradoxically lost histone acetylation. Two mediators of HDACi resistance, YAP and TAZ, were methylated and suppressed in IDHmut gliomas but not in other IDHmut cancers. Inducing YAP or TAZ expression in IDHmut gliomas conferred resistance to HDACi. Finally, belinostat extended in vivo survival only in IDHmut glioma models, not in IDHmut GBM models. Our findings provide a mechanistic rationale for further studies of HDACi in patients with IDHmut glioma, as well as the potential use of YAP/TAZ as a biomarker of HDACi sensitivity in cancers.

Authors

Thomas K. Sears, Matthew McCord, Wenxia Wang, Alicia Steffens, Kathleen McCortney, Rahul Chaliparambil, Jann N. Sarkaria, Craig M. Horbinski

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Figure 1

IDHmut is associated with sensitivity to the HDACi panobinostat only in glioma, but not intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma or chondrosarcoma.

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IDHmut is associated with sensitivity to the HDACi panobinostat only in ...
(A–C) Panobinostat dose-response experiments were performed via EdU proliferation and trypan blue cytotoxicity assays, and outputs were integrated onto a single plot for IDHwt/mut glioma (A), intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (B), or chondrosarcoma (C). (D–F) H3KAc ELISAs were performed on a variety of IDHwt and IDHmut glioma, intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma, and chondrosarcoma cell cultures treated with 10 nM of panobinostat for 24 hours. Individual cell lines are shown in D, while data are arranged by IDH status and cancer type in E showing fold changes in panobinostat-mediated H3KAc and in F showing baseline H3KAc. Multiple unpaired 2-tailed t tests with Benjamini-Hochberg correction for multiple comparisons. *P < 0.05. Data are shown as mean ± SEM (n = 3 biological replicates).

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