Inhibition of EZH2 degradation as a novel approach to overcome drug resistance in acute myeloid leukemia.

The polycomb protein enhancer of zeste homolog 2 (EZH2) may have a dual role in cancer pathogenesis acting as an oncogene or as a tumor suppressor depending on the cancer type. We recently demonstrated that proteasomal degradation of EZH2 resulting from cyclin-dependent kinase 1 (CDK1)-induced phosphorylation at Threonine (T) 487 represents a novel mechanism of drug resistance in acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Our findings suggest that restoration of EZH2 protein is a viable approach to overcome therapy resistance in AML.