When:
Thursday, February 20, 2020
10:00 AM - 11:00 AM CT
Where: Simpson Querrey Biomedical Research Center, Simpson Querrey Auditorium, 303 E. Superior Street, Chicago, IL 60611 map it
Audience: Faculty/Staff - Student - Public - Post Docs/Docs - Graduate Students
Contact:
Vanessa Hughes
(312) 503-5229
Group: Biochemistry & Molecular Genetics Seminar Series
Category: Academic
Abstract: Overactivated ribosome biogenesis is a common feature of cancer. However, its governing factors and underlying mechanism remain elusive. Herein, we report that enhancer of zeste homolog 2 (EZH2), a transcription repressor, could directly interact with fibrillarin (FBL) to exert its role in translational regulation. We demonstrate that EZH2 enhances rRNA 2′-O methylation via its direct interaction with FBL, while loss of EZH2 does not impact FBL-mediated histone H2AQ104 methylation (H2AQ104me). Mechanistically, EZH2 strengthens the FBL-NOP56 interaction by binding to both proteins and thus facilitates the assembly of box C/D small nucleolar ribonucleoprotein (box C/D snoRNP). Strikingly, EZH2 deficiency impairs translation efficiency globally and reduces internal ribosome entry site (IRES)-dependent translation initiation in cancer cells. Our findings reveal a previously unrecognized role of EZH2 in translational regulation, which may provide more options for the development of EZH2-targeting curative strategies in cancer.
Qi Cao
Associate Professor, Urology
Northwestern University, Feinberg School of Medicine