A signaling cascade including ARID1A, GADD45B and DUSP1 induces apoptosis and affects the cell cycle of germ cell cancers after romidepsin treatment

In Western countries, the incidence of testicular germ cell cancers (GCC) is steadily rising over the last decades. Mostly, men between 20 and 40 years of age are affected. In general, patients suffering from GCCs are treated by orchiectomy and radio- or chemotherapy. Due to resistance mechanisms, intolerance to the therapy or denial of chemo- / radiotherapy by the patients, GCCs are still a lethal threat, highlighting the need for alternative treatment strategies.In this study, we revealed that germ cell cancer cell lines are highly sensitive to the histone deacetylase inhibitor romidepsin <em>in vitro</em> and <em>in vivo</em>, highlighting romidepsin as a potential therapeutic option for GCC patients.Romidepsin-mediated inhibition of histone deacetylases led to disturbances of the chromatin landscape. This resulted in locus-specific histone-hyper- or hypoacetylation. We found that hypoacetylation at the <em>ARID1A</em> promotor caused repression of the SWI/SNF-complex member <em>ARID1A</em>. In consequence, this resulted in upregulation of the stress-sensors and apoptosis-regulators <em>GADD45B</em>, <em>DUSP1</em> and <em>CDKN1A</em>. RNAi-driven knock down of <em>ARID1A</em> mimicked in parts the effects of romidepsin, while CRISPR/Cas9-mediated deletion of <em>GADD45B</em> attenuated the romidepsin-provoked induction of apoptosis and cell cycle alterations.We propose a signaling cascade involving <em>ARID1A</em>, <em>GADD45B</em> and <em>DUSP1</em> as mediators of the romidepsin effects in GCC cells.<br>