Compositions and methods for managing the growth, life cycle, functionality, or biological progression of cells, tissues, and organisms by introducing rhomboid proteins or peptides into the internal and external environment of the cells, tissues, and organisms. In particular, embodiments comprise compositions and methods for overcoming drug resistance in disease, and for sensitizing cells, tissues, and organisms to agents to treat disease, and methods for producing such compositions. The compositions and methods include rhomboid proteins, polypeptides, and/or peptides, and nucleic acids encoding such proteins, polypeptides, and/or and peptides, corresponding to the Arabidopsis At1g74130 or At1g25290 gene or human UBAC2 gene. The rhomboid proteins, polypeptides, and/or and peptides or nucleic acids may be derived from natural genetic sources, from different species, different genes of the rhomboid family, through alternative splicing of encoding transcripts, through laboratory manipulations, using recombinant protein production techniques, fermentation, mutagenesis approaches, synthesis, peptides, or other methods of generation and production.
