Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41731536›Full record

ArticleMolecular cancer2026

EZH2 is a key prognostic marker and therapeutic target in aggressive and proliferative hepatoblastoma.

Fatma Zohra Khoubai, Alexia Calovoulos, Hélène Guillorit, Juan Carrillo-Reixach, Alvaro Del Rio-Alvarez, Pierre Klein, Marina Simon Coma, Christophe Avignon, Benoit Rousseau, Lea Mora Charrot and 18 more

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Article in Molecular cancer, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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1 · What the graph read from it

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3 · Its place in the literature

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

28 authors.

Fatma Zohra KhoubaiUniv. Bordeaux, INSERM, Biotherapy of Genetic Diseases, Inflammatory Disorders and Cancer, BMGIC, U1035, Bordeaux, F-33000, France.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9988-2856
Alexia Calovoulos *Univ. Bordeaux, INSERM, Biotherapy of Genetic Diseases, Inflammatory Disorders and Cancer, BMGIC, U1035, Bordeaux, F-33000, France.
Hélène Guillorit *Univ. Bordeaux, INSERM, Bordeaux Institute of Oncology, BRIC, U1312, Bordeaux, F-33000, France.
Juan Carrillo-Reixach *Childhood Liver Oncology Group, Germans Trias i Pujol Research Institute (IGTP), Badalona, Spain.
Alvaro Del Rio-Alvarez *Childhood Liver Oncology Group, Germans Trias i Pujol Research Institute (IGTP), Badalona, Spain.
Pierre KleinUniv. Bordeaux, INSERM, Biotherapy of Genetic Diseases, Inflammatory Disorders and Cancer, BMGIC, U1035, Bordeaux, F-33000, France.
Marina Simon ComaUniv. Bordeaux, INSERM, Bordeaux Institute of Oncology, BRIC, U1312, Bordeaux, F-33000, France.
Christophe AvignonDepartment of Pathology, Bicêtre University Hospital, Assistance Publique- Hôpitaux de Paris, Le Kremlin-Bicêtre, F-94275, France.
Benoit RousseauUniv. Bordeaux, Animalerie A2, Département STS, Service commun des Animaleries, Bordeaux, F-33000, France.
Lea Mora CharrotUniv. Bordeaux, Animalerie A2, Département STS, Service commun des Animaleries, Bordeaux, F-33000, France.
Sandrine FedouUniv. Bordeaux, INSERM, Biotherapy of Genetic Diseases, Inflammatory Disorders and Cancer, BMGIC, U1035, Bordeaux, F-33000, France.
Jean-William DupuyUniv. Bordeaux, Bordeaux Proteome, F-33000, Bordeaux, France.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2448-4797
Laura RoyoChildhood Liver Oncology Group, Germans Trias i Pujol Research Institute (IGTP), Badalona, Spain.
Montse Domingo-SàbatChildhood Liver Oncology Group, Germans Trias i Pujol Research Institute (IGTP), Badalona, Spain.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6687-3259
Nadine ThézéUniv. Bordeaux, INSERM, Biotherapy of Genetic Diseases, Inflammatory Disorders and Cancer, BMGIC, U1035, Bordeaux, F-33000, France.
Géraldine SiegfriedUniv. Bordeaux, INSERM, Bordeaux Institute of Oncology, BRIC, U1312, Bordeaux, F-33000, France.
Abdel-Majid KhatibUniv. Bordeaux, INSERM, Bordeaux Institute of Oncology, BRIC, U1312, Bordeaux, F-33000, France.
Stefano CairoXenTech SAS, Genopole Campus, 1-3 impasse Alexis Trinquet, Évry, F-91000, France.
Emilie IndersieXenTech SAS, Genopole Campus, 1-3 impasse Alexis Trinquet, Évry, F-91000, France.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8974-6551
Buddhi Prakash JainDepartment of Zoology, Mahatma Gandhi Central University, Motihari, Bihar, India.
Véronique TrézéguetUniv. Bordeaux, INSERM, Biotherapy of Genetic Diseases, Inflammatory Disorders and Cancer, BMGIC, U1035, Bordeaux, F-33000, France.
Etienne GontierUniv. Bordeaux, CNRS, INSERM, Bordeaux Imaging Centre, BIC, UMS 3420, UMS 3420, US 4, Bordeaux, F-33000, France.
François LamoureuxNantes Université, Inserm UMR 1307, CNRS UMR 6075, CRCI2NA, Team 9 CHILD, Nantes, F-44000, France.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2738-0758
Catherine GuettierDepartment of Pathology, Bicêtre University Hospital, Assistance Publique- Hôpitaux de Paris, Le Kremlin-Bicêtre, F-94275, France.
Charlotte MussiniDepartment of Pathology, Bicêtre University Hospital, Assistance Publique- Hôpitaux de Paris, Le Kremlin-Bicêtre, F-94275, France.
Martin HagedornUniv. Bordeaux, INSERM, Biotherapy of Genetic Diseases, Inflammatory Disorders and Cancer, BMGIC, U1035, Bordeaux, F-33000, France.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0960-5116
Carolina ArmengolChildhood Liver Oncology Group, Germans Trias i Pujol Research Institute (IGTP), Badalona, Spain.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4690-4027
Christophe F GrossetUniv. Bordeaux, INSERM, Biotherapy of Genetic Diseases, Inflammatory Disorders and Cancer, BMGIC, U1035, Bordeaux, F-33000, France. christophe.grosset@inserm.fr.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0479-6291

Funding

Agència de Gestió d'Ajuts Universitaris i de Recerca 2017-SGR-490Catalan Agency for Management of University and Research Grants 2019 FI_B01024 and 2022 FI_B 00528Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Hepáticas y Digestivas CB06/04/0033European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program GA No 668596; iPC: GA No 826121Institut National du Cancer N°2020-012Institut National Du Cancer N°2023-156Instituto de Salud Carlos III PI09/00751, PI10/02082, PI13/02340La Région Nouvelle-Aquitaine N°2018-1R30114Ligue Contre le Cancer n°AAPPEAC2018.LCC/CG
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundEZH2 is a histone methyltransferase and a key component of polycomb repressive complex 2 (PRC2). It plays a critical role in genome remodeling, gene regulation and acts through PRC2-dependent and independent mechanisms, which comprise methylation of histone and non-histone substrates, and transcriptional activation through different transcriptional complexes. EZH2 is involved in many cancers, but its role in hepatoblastoma is poorly understood.

methodsPotential correlation between EZH2 mRNA expression and clinical parameters was analyzed by computational and histological approaches using seven published transcriptomic datasets and tissue samples from patients with hepatoblastoma. EZH2 molecular function was deciphered using molecular approaches, gain- and loss-of-function genetic tools, proteomics, immunohistochemistry, pharmacological drugs, 2D cell- and spheroid-based assays, and four different animal models.

resultsOur data show that EZH2 mRNA expression correlated with poor prognostic markers such as tumor proliferation, and patients’ death and shorter survival. EZH2 protein potentiated hepatoblastoma cell proliferation, migration, survival and cisplatin resistance through its histone methyltransferase activity by repressing DUSP5, and transcriptionally inducing DUSP9 and HMGCR. In vivo EZH2 sustained tumor cell proliferation, and tumor development and angiogenesis. The EZH2 inhibitor GSK126 synergized with HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor statins to eradicate hepatoblastoma cells in vitro and block tumor development in mice. This combination was also very effective on various hepatoblastoma and non-hepatoblastoma tumor cell lines.

conclusionCollectively, our data showed that the protein EZH2 promotes hepatoblastoma development, partly through its histone methyltransferase activity, by differentially modulating the expression of DUSP5, DUSP9 and HMGCR genes and by supporting the MAPK/ERK pathway in hepatoblastoma cells already displaying high Wnt signal activity. EZH2 inhibitors triggered lipid synthesis in hepatoblastoma cells and synergized with cholesterol-lowering statins to block hepatoblastoma development in vitro and in vivo. Therefore, we demonstrate the key role of EZH2 in proliferative hepatoblastoma and the therapeutic benefit of combining EZH2 inhibitor and statin to treat patients with cancer.

Indexed as

Biomarkers, TumorEnhancer of Zeste Homolog 2 ProteinHepatoblastomaLiver NeoplasmsAnimalsCell Line, TumorCell MovementCell ProliferationDual-Specificity PhosphatasesGene Expression Regulation, NeoplasticHumansIndolesMicePrognosisPyridonesBiomarkers, TumorDual-Specificity PhosphatasesDUSP5 protein, humanEnhancer of Zeste Homolog 2 ProteinEZH2 protein, humanGSK-2816126IndolesPyridonesDUSP5DUSP9EZH2GSK126HepatoblastomaHMG-Co reductaseStatin

Identifiers

PMID41731536
PMCPMC13001322

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