Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 14, 2026

A Non-random Mouse Model for Pharmacological Reactivation of Mecp2 on the Inactive X Chromosome
Published on: May 22, 2019
A functional link between the histone demethylase PHF8 and the transcription factor ZNF711 in X-linked mental
Daniela Kleine-Kohlbrecher1, Jesper Christensen, Julien Vandamme
1Biotech Research and Innovation Centre (BRIC), Centre for Epigenetics, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Abstract:
X-linked mental retardation (XLMR) is an inherited disorder that mostly affects males and is caused by mutations in genes located on the X chromosome. Here, we show that the XLMR protein PHF8 and a C. elegans homolog F29B9.2 catalyze demethylation of di- and monomethylated lysine 9 of histone H3 (H3K9me2/me1). The PHD domain of PHF8 binds to H3K4me3 and colocalizes with H3K4me3 at transcription initiation sites. Furthermore, PHF8 interacts with another XMLR protein, ZNF711, which binds to a subset of PHF8 target genes, including the XLMR gene JARID1C. Of interest, the C. elegans PHF8 homolog is highly expressed in neurons, and mutant animals show impaired locomotion. Taken together, our results functionally link the XLMR gene PHF8 to two other XLMR genes, ZNF711 and JARID1C, indicating that MR genes may be functionally linked in pathways, causing the complex phenotypes observed in patients developing MR.
Related Concept Videos
Spreading of Chromatin Modifications
Writers
The writer is an enzyme that can...
Inheritance of Chromatin Structures
Heterochromatin
Constitutive heterochromatin: It is a highly compact region of chromatin that is mostly concentrated in the centromere and telomere. Unlike euchromatin, the amino acid at 9th...
Master Transcription Regulators
Euchromatin
Euchromatin is the less dense region of the chromatin and stains lighter. Euchromatin contains histone H3 extensively...
Exon Recombination
Exon shuffling follows “splice frame rules.” Each exon has three reading...

