Description
KDM4A (lysine (K)-specific demethylase 4A), also known as JMJD2A (Jumonji Domain Containing 2A) is a nuclear protein that functions as a trimethylation-specific histone demethylase that preferentially demethylates trimethylated lysine 9 (K9me3) and lysine 36 (K36me3) residues of histone H3, converting these trimethylated histone residues to dimethylated form. KDM4A has no activity for mono- and dimethylated H3K9 and H3K36. KDM4A functions as a transcriptional repressor, participating in transcriptional repression of ASCL2 and E2F-responsive promoters via the recruitment of histone deacetylases and NCOR1, respectively. An additional KDM4A isoform, KDM4A Isoform 2, that lacks the N-terminal demethylase domain is crucial for muscle differentiation in promoting transcriptional activation of the MyoG gene by directing the removal of repressive chromatin marks at its promoter