Chidamide works synergistically with Dasatinib by inducing cell-cycle arrest and apoptosis in acute myeloid leukemia cells

This research aimed to explore whether Chidamide works synergistically with Dasatinib in the therapy of Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and the potential molecular mechanism. The inhibition rate of the Dasatinib and Chidamide combination was significantly better than that of the single-drug application for HL-60 cells. The combination of Dasatinib and Chidamide significantly enhanced the Abnormal histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitory activity of Chidamide in Kasumi-1 and HL-60 cells. In the combined group, the proportion of S phase was significantly decreased, and the proportions of G2/M phase were significantly increased. The inhibitory rate of CD34+ CD38− HL-60 cells or Kasumi-1 cells was elevated when the cells were disposed with both Chidamide and Dasatinib. Dasatinib and Chidamide had synergistic antitumor effect. The combination with Dasatinib enhanced the HDAC inhibitory activity of Chidamide, promoted cell apoptosis and cell-cycle arrest of AML cells, and enhanced the inhibition of leukemia stem cell proliferation.