Abstract
Advances in functional studies on epigenetic regulators have disclosed the vital roles played by diverse histone lysine demethylases (KDMs), ranging from normal development to tumorigenesis. Most of the KDMs are Jumonji C domain-containing (JMJD) proteins. Many of these KDMs remove methyl groups from histone tails to regulate gene transcription. There are more than 30 known KDM proteins, which fall into different subfamilies. Of the many KDM subfamilies, KDM3 (JMJD1) proteins specifically remove dimethyl and monomethyl marks from lysine 9 on histone H3 and other non-histone proteins. Dysregulation of KDM3 proteins leads to infertility, obesity, metabolic syndromes, heart diseases, and cancers. Among the KDM3 proteins, KDM3A has been largely studied in cancers. However, despite a number of studies pointing out their importance in tumorigenesis, KDM3B and KDM3C are relatively overlooked. KDM3B and KDM3C show context-dependent functions, showing pro- or anti-tumorigenic abilities in different cancers. Thus, this review provides a thorough understanding of the involvement of KDM3B and KDMC in oncology that should be helpful in determining the role of KDM3 proteins in preclinical studies for development of novel pharmacological methods to overcome cancer.