EZH2 is increased in paediatric T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia and is a suitable molecular target in combination treatment approaches

BACKGROUND: T-cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) represents about 10–15 % of pediatric ALL cases. EZH2, one of the components of Polycomb group proteins (PRC2) complex, catalyzes the trimethylation of histone H3 lysine 27 that is associated with transcriptional repression and tumor development. METHODS: We examined the expression levels of PRC2 complex in primary samples of T cells ALL at diagnosis by western blotting and real time PCR. We evaluated the effect of 3-deazaneplanocin-A (DZNep), an EZH2 inhibitor, alone and in combination with Daunoblastine on cell viability, apoptotic death and cell cycle distribution of T cell established Jurkat cell line. RESULTS: EZH2 was expressed in 75 % samples at different extents mainly with high expression level. SUZ12 was expressed in 60 % samples and EED in all samples, respectively. The Kaplan-Meier analysis shows that T-ALL expressing EZH2 had a lower probability of disease-free survival (DFS) compared to T-ALL negative for EZH2 (23 % vs 100 %) (p = 0.01). The EZH2 inhibitor DZNep used in combination with Daunoblastine was synergistic in inducing growth inhibition and increasing the apoptosis in T-ALL Jurkat cells at 48 and 72 h paralleled by EZH2 decreased expression. Moreover, the combination decreased the activity of Erk-1/2 proliferation enzymes with no effects on Akt survival pathway. CONCLUSIONS: The evaluation of EZH2 expression in pediatric T-ALL can be useful in predict the clinical outcome of the patients and EZH2 can be a useful target to improve the efficacy of conventional chemotherapy in this subset of patients with bad prognosis.