Histone demethylase PHF8 facilitates the development of chronic myeloid leukaemia by directly targeting BCR::ABL1

Although tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) have revolutionized the treatment of chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML), TKI resistance remains a major challenge. Here, we demonstrated that plant homeodomain finger protein 8 (PHF8), a histone demethylase was aberrantly enriched in CML samples compared to healthy controls. PHF8 inhibited CML cell differentiation and promoted CML cell proliferation. Furthermore, the proliferation-inhibited function of PHF8-knockdown have stronger effect on imatinib mesylate (IM)-resistant CML cells. Mechanistically, we identified that PHF8 as a transcriptional modulator interacted with the promoter of the BCR::ABL1 fusion gene and alters the methylation levels of H3K9me1, H3K9me2 and H3K27me1, thereby promoting BCR::ABL1 transcription. Overall, our study suggests that targeting PHF8, which directly regulates BCR::ABL1 expression, is a useful therapeutic approach for CML.