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EZH2 Oncogenic Activity in Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer Cells Is Polycomb-Independent

  • Kexin Xu
  • , Zhenhua Jeremy Wu
  • , Anna C. Groner
  • , Housheng Hansen He
  • , Changmeng Cai
  • , Rosina T. Lis
  • , Xiaoqiu Wu
  • , Edward C. Stack
  • , Massimo Loda
  • , Tao Liu
  • , Han Xu
  • , Laura Cato
  • , James E. Thornton
  • , Richard I. Gregory
  • , Colm Morrissey
  • , Robert L. Vessella
  • , Rodolfo Montironi
  • , Cristina Magi-Galluzzi
  • , Philip W. Kantoff
  • , Steven P. Balk
  • X. Shirley Liu, Myles Brown
  • Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
  • Harvard University
  • Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
  • Brigham and Women’s Hospital
  • King's College London
  • Boston Children's Hospital
  • University of Washington
  • Puget Sound VA Health Care System
  • Marche Polytechnic University
  • Cleveland Clinic Foundation

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

782 Scopus citations

Abstract

Epigenetic regulators represent a promising new class of therapeutic targets for cancer. Enhancer of zeste homolog 2 (EZH2), a subunit of Polycomb repressive complex 2 (PRC2), silences gene expression via its histone methyltransferase activity. We found that the oncogenic function of EZH2 in cells of castration-resistant prostate cancer is independent of its role as a transcriptional repressor. Instead, it involves the ability of EZH2 to act as a coactivator for critical transcription factors including the androgen receptor. This functional switch is dependent on phosphorylation of EZH2 and requires an intact methyltransferase domain. Hence, targeting the non-PRC2 function of EZH2 may have therapeutic efficacy for treating metastatic, hormone-refractory prostate cancer.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1465-1469
Number of pages5
JournalScience
Volume338
Issue number6113
DOIs
StatePublished - Dec 14 2012

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