Targeting HDAC3 in CREBBP-mutant lymphomas counterstrikes unopposed enhancer deacetylation of B-cell signaling and immune response genes

The cellular phenotype of B-cell lymphomas arising from B cells undergoing germinal center reactions, such as follicular lymphoma and diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, is strongly shaped by mutations in chromatin-modifying genes. The work presented by Jiang and colleagues addresses how somatic mutations in CREBBP disable acetylation and cause unopposed deacetylation by BCL6/SMRT/HDAC3 complexes on enhancers of B-cell signaling and immune response genes. This opens a therapeutic avenue toward targeted inhibition of CREBBP-mutant lymphomas by HDAC inhibitors.