EZH2 is overexpressed in laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma and enhances the stem-like properties of AMC-HN-8 cells

The enhancer of zeste 2 polycomb repressive complex 2 subunit (EZH2) histone methyltransferase is the catalytic subunit of polycomb repressive complex 2 (PRC2), which is important for epigenetic regulation. EZH2 is highly expressed in various types of tumors, and its high-level expression promotes the progression and invasion of certain tumors. However, the expression level of EZH2 and its functions in laryngeal squamous cell carcinomas are unknown. In the present study, the level of EZH2 expression in laryngeal squamous cell carcinomas was evaluated using immunochemical staining and reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction. EZH2 was overexpressed in AMC-HN-8 cells with lentiviral transfection. Cell proliferation, apoptosis, cell-cycle, chemotherapy-sensitivity and in vivo tumorigenic assays were performed. The results indicated that EZH2 was highly expressed in laryngeal squamous cell carcinomas. Additionally, EZH2 overexpression promoted proliferation, accelerated cell-cycle progression and enhanced the tumorigenicity in laryngeal squamous cancer cells. More importantly, EZH2 enhanced the chemotherapy resistance of these cells. Overall, the results indicated that EZH2 promotes the progression of laryngeal squamous cell cancer and could be a potential chemotherapeutic target for the treatment of such cancer.