Advanced Progress of Histone Deacetylases in Rheumatic Diseases

Xue-Mei Liu,1,2,* Liu Yang,1,2,* Qi-Bin Yang1 1Department of Rheumatology and Immunology, Affiliated Hospital of North Sichuan Medical College, Nanchong, Sichuan Province, 637000, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Clinical Medicine, Graduate School of North Sichuan Medical College, Nanchong, Sichuan Province, 637000, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Qi-Bin Yang, Department of Rheumatology and Immunology, Affiliated Hospital, North Sichuan Medical College, 1 Maoyuannan Road, Nanchong, Sichuan Province, 637000, People’s Republic of China, Tel +86-817-259-8221, Email yangqb_001@163.comAbstract: Rheumatic disease is a disease which is not yet fully clarified to etiology and also involved in a local pathological injury or systemic disease. With the continuous improvement of clinical medical research in recent years, the development process of rheumatic diseases has been gradually elucidated; with the intensely study of epigenetics, it is realized that environmental changes can affect genetics, among which histone acetylation is one of the essential mechanisms in epigenetics. Histone deacetylases (HDACs) play an important role in regulating gene expression in various biological processes, including differentiation, development, stress response, and injury. HDACs are involved in a variety of physiological processes and are promising drug targets in various pathological conditions, such as cancer, cardiac and neurodegenerative diseases, inflammation, metabolic and immune disorders, and viral and parasitic infections. In this paper, we reviewed the roles of HDACs in rheumatic diseases in terms of their classification and function.Keywords: histone deacetylase, histone deacetylase inhibitor, rheumatic diseases