EZH2 Y641

Atg7 deletion also results in increased CD8 + T cells in Ezh2Y641F melanomas and reduced myelosuppressive cell infiltration in the tumor microenvironment, particularly in Ezh2WT melanomas, suggesting a strong immune system contribution in the role of Atg7 in melanoma progression. These findings highlight the complex interplay between genetic mutations, epigenetic regulators, and autophagy in shaping tumor immunity in melanoma.

We also uncover unexpected variability in the mutational landscape of successive biopsies, pointing to frequent co-existence of different clones and cautioning against stratifying patients based on single sampling. Our results clarify how oncogenic PRC2 mutations disrupt chromatin and transcription, and the therapeutic vulnerabilities this creates.

In this study, based on the binding model of 1 (tazemetostat) with polycomb repressive complex 2 (PRC2), we designed and synthesized a series of tazemetostat analogs bearing a 1-methyl-2-benzimidazolinone moiety to improve the inhibitory activity of EZH2 wild-type (WT) and Y641 mutants and enhance metabolic stability...Additionally, N40 (T1/2 = 177.69 min) showed improved metabolic stability in human liver microsomes compared with 1 (T1/2 = 7.97 min). Our findings suggest N40 as a promising EZH2 inhibitor; further investigation remains warranted to confirm our findings and further develop N40.

The market approval of Tazemetostat (TAZVERIK) for the treatment of follicular lymphoma and epithelioid sarcoma has established "enhancer of zeste homolog 2" (EZH2) as therapeutic target in oncology...These inhibitors interact in a more entropy-driven fashion and show the most persistent effects in cellular washout and antiproliferative efficacy experiments. Our work provides mechanistic insights for the largest cohort of EZH2 inhibitors reported to date, demonstrating that-among several other binding parameters-target residence time is the best predictor of cellular efficacy.

The enhancer of zeste homolog 2 (EZH2) and its homolog EZH1 are catalytic components of polycomb repressive complex 2 (PRC2), which tri-methylate histone H3 at lysine 27 (H3K27me3) to repress transcription of their target genes. In conclusion, the present preclinical studies demonstrated that HM97662, an EZH1/2 dual inhibitor, had a promising and wide spectrum of therapeutic potential for hematological malignancies. It is urgent to assess the effectiveness of HM97662 in further clinical trials.

These cell lines serve as a preclinical tool to test novel therapeutic strategies and develop a deeper understanding of the molecular mechanisms driving lymphomagenesis, therapeutic response, and resistance in genetically defined subtypes of GC-derived B-cell lymphomas. Most importantly, this resource meets a critical need in the field for syngeneic models of lymphoma to study disease progression and precision therapy in immunocompetent mice.

Therefore, we investigated the potential of GC B cells to form iPSCs using a doxycycline-dependent mouse strain that enables the inducible expression of Yamanaka transcription factors (TF) in any given cell...We speculate that restricting plasticity to B cells under selection by T cells, limits the potential for GC B cells to acquire high levels of plasticity, hence reducing the potential for these cells to initiate lymphomas. Consistent with this notion, we found that DLBCL patients enriched for these stem cell signatures manifested inferior clinical outcomes.

Strikingly, treating EZB cells with EZH2 inhibitor tazemetostat (taz) ex vivo reprogrammed them to re-express the full spectrum of T cell engagement genes such as ICOSL, ITGB7, 4-1BBL, and OX40L and rendered them highly immunogenic...Collectively, EZH2 inhibitors yield a potent boost to CART mediated anti-lymphoma effects by enhancing CART cell functions and B cell immunogenicity, which would likely yield a significant clinical benefit for these patients where CART cells are less active. These results prompted us to initiate a clinical trial evaluating the safety and efficacy of this combination in B cell lymphomas (NCT05934838).

Another class of allosteric PRC2 inhibitor binding EED overcomes the resistance, effectively decreases H3K27me3, and blocks tumor proliferation in cells expressing EZH2 W113C. As this mutation is originally identified from lymphoma samples, our results demonstrated its activating characteristic and the deleterious consequence, provide insights on PRC2 regulation, and support the continued exploration of treatment optimization for lymphoma patients.

In summary, XNW5004 is a potent EZH2 inhibitor with promising efficacy, pharmacokinetic and safety properties. XNW5004 is expected to be a potent therapeutic candidate in cancer treatment and is now in Phase II clinical trial for both liquid and solid tumors.

Ezh2 and Stat3 together function as transcriptional activators to mediate gene activation of numerous genes, including MHC Class 1b antigen processing genes. Furthermore, expression of Stat3 is required to maintain an anti-tumor immune response in Ezh2 melanomas and to prevent melanoma progression and recurrence.

Given the known interplay between EZH2 and MYC downstream signaling in malignant B cells, we undertook the simultaneous evaluation of two epigenetic drugs that interfere with EZH2 methyltransferase activity and BRD4-mediated control of MYC transcription, namely CPI169 and CPI203; using preclinical models of DLBCL and FL with distinct EZH2 mutational status. Gene expression profile analysis, followed by automated exploratory data analysis and validation by a siRNA screening, further identified the PI3K/AKT-regulated gene and mitosis regulator, YPEL2; as a crucial factor involved in the efficacy of MYC/EZH2 dual targeting in vitro and in vivo . Conclusion These results provide a first preclinical evidence that simultaneous targeting of MYC and EZH2 is a safe and efficient approach that can be monitored by specific biomarkers in aggressive lymphoid tumors of germinal center origin.

EZH2 inhibition with EPZ-6438 abrogated these extrinsic and intrinsic effects leading to PRAME expression and microenvironment restoration in vivo. Our data highlight multiple functions of PRAME during lymphomagenesis, and provide a preclinical rationale for synergistic therapies combining epigenetic re-programming with PRAME-targeted therapies.

Although EZH2 kinase inhibitors, such as EPZ-6438, provide clinical benefit, certain cancer cells are resistant to the enzymatic inhibition of EZH2 because of the inability to functionally target mutant EZH2, or because of cells' dependence on the non-histone methyltransferase activity of EZH2...Moreover, targeting of USP47 leads to death of mutant EZH2-positive cells in vitro and in vivo. Taken together, we propose targeting USP47 with a small molecule inhibitor as a novel potential therapy for DLBCL and other hematologic malignancies characterized by mutant EZH2 expression.

Based on the structure of EPZ6438 (1) and the binding model with PRC2, we designed a series of analogues aiming to improve the activities of EZH2 mutants...Furthermore, it showed no apparent inhibitory activity against the human ether-á-go-go related gene (hERG) (IC > 30 μM). In vivo, 29 exhibited favorable pharmacokinetic properties for oral administration and showed better efficacy than 1 in both Pfeiffer and Karpas-422 cell-mediated xenograft mouse models, indicating that it might be a new potential therapeutic candidate for EZH2 mutant cancers.

MHC-I loss was fully reversible when cells were treated with increasing doses of tazemetostat, a specific EZH2 inhibitor, or interferon-gamma. Interestingly, treatment with 4-HC, prednisone, doxorubicin and CHOP also resulted in increasing restoration of MHC-I expression in EZH2 mutant cells, while bendamustine (and vincristine alone) had no impact on MHC expression ( Fig B,C )...Co-culture experiments with autologous CD4 and CD8 T-cells with and without doxorubicin, CHOP and bendamustine treatment are ongoing to analyze the EZH2 mutation-specific chemotherapy effects on T-cell activation, recruitment, and T-cell mediated killing. In conclusion, our data indicates that the particular chemosensitivity of EZH2 mutant FL to CHOP is not the result of differences in direct cytotoxicity, but -unlike bendamustine- is rather mediated by restoring EZH2 mutation-induced MHC-I/II loss, thereby potentially promoting cytotoxic T-cell responses.

Strikingly, FDC meshwork was significantly shrank in MYC + cases, and partially restored by acquisition of Ezh2 Y641F , indicating that MYC overexpression may contribute to acquire FDC independency for the survival of lymphoma cells. Our results indicate that progression of FL critically affects the TME and acquisition of additional mutations such as MYC alters the interactions between lymphoma cells and tumor supportive immune cells in TME.

Material and We performed integrative genomic analysis of whole-transcriptome RNAseq, targeted genomic sequencing, and high-resolution copy number analysis in 347 de novo DLBCL tumors from patients uniformly treated with R-CHOP...EZH2 inhibition with EPZ-6438 abrogated these dualistic effects leading to increased immune cell infiltration in the tumor microenvironment and acceleration of apoptosis via PRAME restoration... Our findings highlight multiple functions of PRAME during lymphomagenesis. PRAME restoration by EZH2 inhibition provides a preclinical rationale for synergistic therapies combining epigenetic re-programming with PRAME-targeted therapies.