Enhancer Of Zeste Homolog 2 (EZH2)

EZH2 encodes a member of the Polycomb-group (PcG) family. PcG family members form multimeric protein complexes, which are involved in maintaining the transcriptional repressive state of genes over successive cell generations. EZH2 acts mainly as a gene silencer; it performs this role by the addition of three methyl groups to Lysine 27 of histone 3, a modification leading to chromatin condensation.

This protein associates with the embryonic ectoderm development protein, the VAV1 oncoprotein, and the X-linked nuclear protein (XNP). This protein may play a role in the hematopoietic and central nervous systems. Two transcript variants encoding distinct isoforms have been identified for this gene.