The noncanonical role of EZH2 in cancer.

Jinhua Huang, Hongwei Gou, Jia Yao, Kaining Yi, Zhigang Jin, Masao Matsuoka, Tiejun Zhao

Cancer science 2021 Apr

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Enhancer of zeste homolog 2 (EZH2) is the catalytic subunit of polycomb repressive complex 2 (PRC2). Dysregulation of EZH2 causes alteration of gene expression and functions, thereby promoting cancer development. The regulatory function of EZH2 varies across different tumor types. The canonical role of EZH2 is gene silencing through catalyzing the trimethylation of lysine 27 of histone H3 (H3K27me3) in a PRC2-dependent manner. Accumulating evidence indicates that EZH2 has an H3K27me3-independent function as a transcriptional coactivator and plays a critical role in cancer initiation, development, and progression. In this review, we summarize the regulation and function of EZH2 and focus on the current understanding of the noncanonical role of EZH2 in cancer. © 2021 The Authors. Cancer Science published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd on behalf of Japanese Cancer Association.

Citation

Jinhua Huang, Hongwei Gou, Jia Yao, Kaining Yi, Zhigang Jin, Masao Matsuoka, Tiejun Zhao. The noncanonical role of EZH2 in cancer. Cancer science. 2021 Apr;112(4):1376-1382