Establishment and application of a flow cytometry-based method for detecting histone acetylation levels

Abstract Histone deacetylase inhibitors, which have also received attention in AIDS and other diseases, are a new class of anticancer drugs developed in recent years. However, there is still a lack of a unified and reliable method for detecting histone acetylation levels in basic and clinical research. In this study, we developed a flow cytometry-based method to detect histone acetylation levels by comparing different sample processing temperature (on ice vs. room temperature), permeabilization method (intracellular vs. nuclear), antibody dose (antibody titration) and antibody incubation time (time gradient) using whole blood and peripheral blood mononuclear cells. In addition, we applied this optimized method in in vitro experiment and clinical trial of Chidamide (the only China FDA approved HDACi), the result of which confirmed that the flow cytometry-based method for detecting histone acetylation levels is a reliable, fast and convenient method which can be used in basic and clinical research.