PHD finger found in histone lysine demethylase PHF8
PHF8, also termed PHD finger protein 8, or KDM7B, is a monomethylated histone H4 lysine 20 (H4K20me1) demethylase that transcriptionally regulates many cell cycle genes. It also preferentially acts on H3K9me2 and H3K9me1. PHF8 is modulated by CDC20-containing anaphase-promoting complex (APC (cdc20)) and plays an important role in the G2/M transition. It acts as a critical molecular sensor for mediating retinoic acid (RA) treatment response in RAR alpha-fusion-induced leukemia. Moreover, PHF8 is essential for cytoskeleton dynamics and is associated with X-linked mental retardation. PHF8 contains an N-terminal plant homeodomain (PHD) finger followed by a JmjC domain. The PHD finger mediates binding to nucleosomes at active gene promoters and the JmjC domain catalyzes the demethylation of mono- or dimethyl-lysines.