A Histone Acetylation Modulator Gene Signature for Classification and Prognosis of Breast Cancer

Abstract

Regulators of histone acetylation are promising epigenetic targets for therapy in breast cancer. In this study, we comprehensively analyzed the expression of histone acetylation modulator genes in breast cancer using TCGA data sources. A gene signature composed of eight histone acetylation modulators (HAMs) was found to be effective for the classification and prognosis of breast cancers, especially in the HER2-enriched and basal-like molecular subtypes. The eight genes consist of two histone acetylation writers (<i>GTF3C4</i> and <i>CLOCK</i>), two erasers (<i>HDAC2</i> and <i>SIRT7</i>) and four readers (<i>BRD4</i>, <i>BRD7</i>, <i>SP100,</i> and <i>BRWD3</i>). Both histone acetylation writer genes and eraser genes were found to be differentially expressed between the two groups indicating a close relationship exists between overall histone acetylation level and prognosis of breast cancer in HER2-enriched and basal-like breast cancer.