In this study, we investigate the molecular mechanism by which histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors exert anti-invasiveness effect against prostate cancer cells. We first evaluate the growth inhibition effect of HDAC inhibitors in prostate cancer cells, which is accompanied by induction of p21(WAF1) expression and accumulation of acetylated histones. And we found that the migration and invasion of prostate cancer cells is strongly inhibited by treatment with HDAC inhibitors. In parallel, E-cadherin level is highly up-regulated in HDAC inhibitor-treated prostate cancer cells. And siRNA knockdown of E-cadherin significantly diminishes the anti-invasion effect of HDAC inhibitors, indicating that E-cadherin overexpression is one of possible mechanism for anti-invasion effect of HDAC inhibitors. Furthermore, specific downregulation of HDAC1, but not HDAC2, causes E-cadherin expression and subsequent inhibition of cell motility and invasion. Collectively, our data demonstrate that HDAC1 is a major repressive enzyme for E-cadherin expression as well as HDAC inhibitor-mediated anti-invasiveness. (C) 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.