HDAC inhibition via suberoylanilide hydroxamic acid (SAHA) ameliorates Doxorubicin-induced cardiotoxicity

Authors

Eksi, B., Finke, D., Michel, S., Brauer, J., Heckmann, M. B., Valadan, M., Schanze, L. M., Sunder, V., Katus, H. A., Frey, N., Backs, J., Lehmann, L.

Abstract

Background Anthracycline-induced cardiotoxicity remains a major limitation of cancer therapy, and effective preventive strategies are lacking. Topoisomerase II{beta} (Topo IIb) has been implicated as a central driver of this toxicity, suggesting that epigenetic regulators may interfere with pathological cardiac response. Methods and Results Here, we show that doxorubicin promotes Topo IIb accumulation at cardiomyocyte gene promoters (e.g., Actc1, Myl2, and Myh7) overlapping myocyte enhancer factor 2 (MEF2) binding sites and enhances MEF2-dependent transcription. This response is attenuated by the pan-histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor suberoylanilide hydroxamic acid (SAHA). SAHA-mediated cardioprotection requires class IIa HDACs, as genetic loss of HDAC4 abolishes its effect. Mechanistically, SAHA induces acetylation of the chaperone 14-3-3, disrupting its interaction with HDAC4/5, promoting their nuclear accumulation, and repressing MEF2-driven transcription. In vivo, SAHA mitigates doxorubicin-induced cardiotoxicity. Conclusion These findings identify HDAC inhibition as a cardioprotective repurposing strategy and reveal a mechanistic link between epigenetic regulation and anthracycline-associated cardiotoxicity.

Preprint server: bioRxiv
The authors list and abstract were imported from bioRxiv on 13 Jan 2026.

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