# KDM7A

Source: https://onco.cc/targets/kdm7a/  
OnCo record `kdm7a` (Target). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

KDM7A (Lysine-specific demethylase 7A) is a protein that switches other genes on and off. In the public catalogues the evidence so far is association rather than a proven role.

## Summary

Histone demethylase required for brain development. Specifically demethylates dimethylated 'Lys-9', 'Lys-27' and 'Lys-36' (H3K9me2, H3K27me2, H3K36me2, respectively) of histone H3 and monomethylated histone H4 'Lys-20' residue (H4K20Me1), thereby playing a central role in histone code. Specifically binds trimethylated 'Lys-4' of histone H3 (H3K4me3), affecting histone demethylase specificity: in presence of H3K4me3, it has no demethylase activity toward H3K9me2, while it has high activity toward H3K27me2.

Open Targets scores its association with cancer at 0.66 (direct and indirect evidence; datatypes literature 0.92, affected pathway 0.89, animal model 0.36, genetic association 0.68).

## Fields

- Kind: Target
- Last checked: 2026-09-23
- Also known as: lysine demethylase 7A; Lysine-specific demethylase 7A; KIAA1718; JHDM1D
- Tags: cancer-genes-wave
- Symbol: KDM7A
- Class: transcription
- Biology: Histone demethylase required for brain development. Specifically demethylates dimethylated 'Lys-9', 'Lys-27' and 'Lys-36' (H3K9me2, H3K27me2, H3K36me2, respectively) of histone H3 and monomethylated histone H4 'Lys-20' residue (H4K20Me1), thereby playing a central role in histone code. Specifically binds trimethylated 'Lys-4' of histone H3 (H3K4me3), affecting histone demethylase specificity: in presence of H3K4me3, it has no demethylase activity toward H3K9me2, while it has high activity toward H3K27me2. Demethylates H3K9me2 in absence of H3K4me3. Has activity toward H4K20Me1 only when nucleosome is used as a substrate and when not histone octamer is used as substrate. Location: Nucleus (UniProt). Locus 7q34 (HGNC).

## Notes

- Written by scripts/fetch-cancer-genes.ts from CIViC, Open Targets, IntOGen, HGNC and UniProt; the function text is UniProt's, condensed and in UK spelling. Roles: none stated by the sources. Evidence tier "association-only" is the strongest of those signals.
- Prevalence not recorded: none of the sources gives a positivity rate.

## Sources

- HGNC HGNC:22224: https://www.genenames.org/data/gene-symbol-report/#!/hgnc_id/HGNC:22224
- UniProt Q6ZMT4: https://www.uniprot.org/uniprotkb/Q6ZMT4/entry
- NCBI Gene 80853: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/gene/80853
- Ensembl ENSG00000006459: https://www.ensembl.org/Homo_sapiens/Gene/Summary?g=ENSG00000006459

## Connected records

- collections: [Open Targets Platform](https://onco.cc/collections/open-targets/)

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