Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41000734›Full record

ArticlebioRxiv : the preprint server for biology2025

Dual EZH1/2 inhibition enhances DNMT inhibitor efficacy in colon cancer through targeting H3K27me1.

Alison A Chomiak, Ashley K Wiseman, Joel Hrit, Yanqing Liu, Stephanie Stransky, Simone Sidoli, Rochelle L Tiedemann, Scott B Rothbart

Abstract readPreprint
In one paragraph

Article in bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Alison A ChomiakDepartment of Epigenetics, Van Andel Institute, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49503, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-5036-3390
Ashley K WisemanDepartment of Epigenetics, Van Andel Institute, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49503, USA.
Joel HritDepartment of Epigenetics, Van Andel Institute, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49503, USA.
Yanqing LiuDepartment of Epigenetics, Van Andel Institute, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49503, USA.
Stephanie StranskyDepartment of Biochemistry, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York 10461, USA.
Simone SidoliDepartment of Biochemistry, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York 10461, USA.
Rochelle L TiedemannDepartment of Epigenetics, Van Andel Institute, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49503, USA.
Scott B RothbartDepartment of Epigenetics, Van Andel Institute, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49503, USA.

Funding

Pathology CoreP50CA254897 · NCI · CORIELL INSTITUTE FOR MEDICAL RESEARCH · PI WILLIAMS, BART O · 2021 to 2025
$11.9M
Molecular mechanisms of chromatin and epigenetic regulationR35GM124736 · NIGMS · VAN ANDEL RESEARCH INSTITUTE · PI ROTHBART, SCOTT · 2017 to 2021
$2.4M
The Role of the Epigenetic Regulator UHRF1 in Colon TumorigenesisF32CA225043 · NCI · VAN ANDEL RESEARCH INSTITUTE · PI LANCTOT CHOMIAK, ALISON ANN · 2018 to 2020
$191k
Targeting mechanisms of chromatin plasticity to improve the efficacy of epigenetic solid tumor therapyF99CA305570 · NCI · VAN ANDEL RESEARCH INSTITUTE · PI Yanqing Liu · 2025 to 2026
$105k
NCI NIH HHS F32 CA225043NCI NIH HHS F99 CA305570NCI NIH HHS P50 CA254897NIGMS NIH HHS R35 GM124736
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Our recent work showed that low-dose DNMT inhibitor (DNMTi) treatment sensitizes colon cancer cells to EZH2 inhibitors (EZH2i), synergistically upregulating tumor suppressor genes (TSGs) and transposable elements through activation of the calcium-calcineurin-NFAT signaling pathway. A key observation was that EZH2i displayed variable sensitivities in combination therapy, which could not be explained solely by loss of lysine 27 trimethylation on histone H3 (H3K27me3), the most commonly studied EZH2 product. This led us to perform a comprehensive pharmacologic screen of Polycomb Repressive Complex 2 (PRC2) antagonists. Here, we show that compounds targeting both EZH2 and its interchangeable catalytic subunit, EZH1, achieved superior TSG re-expression when combined with DNMTi. Integrative proteomic and epigenomic analyses revealed that EZH1/2 inhibitors reduce all three H3K27 methylation states, whereas EZH2-selective inhibitors preserve EZH1-dependent H3K27me1 at deeply Polycomb-repressed genomic regions. Notably, H3K27me1 loss coincided with deposition of p300/CBP-dependent lysine 27 acetylation on histone H3 (H3K27ac), which proved essential for TSG re-expression. Paradoxically, blocking p300/CBP activity further enhanced the growth-inhibitory effects of combined DNMT and EZH1/2 inhibition. Mechanistically, we show that EZH1/2 inhibition redistributes p300/CBP activity, reducing H3K27ac from oncogenic loci and redirecting it to bivalent regions that enable TSG re-expression. Collectively, these findings reveal a coordinated role for EZH1-dependent H3K27me1 and DNA methylation in sustaining oncogenic transcriptional programs and provide strong rationale for advancing dual EZH1/2 inhibitors for combination epigenetic cancer therapy.

Indexed as

colon cancerdecitabineDNA methylationDNA methylation inhibitorsepigenetic therapyEZH1EZH2H3K27acH3K27me1H3K27me3histone PTMsp300/CBPPRC2 inhibitorstazemetostatvalemetostat

Identifiers

PMID41000734
PMCPMC12458120

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.