This gene encodes a nuclear protein that is similar to the product of the Drosophila male-specific lethal-3 gene. The Drosophila protein plays a critical role in a dosage-compensation pathway, which equalizes X-linked gene expression in males and females. Thus, the human protein is thought to play a similar function in chromatin remodeling and transcriptional regulation, and it has been found as part of a complex that is responsible for histone H4 lysine-16 acetylation. This gene can undergo X inactivation. Alternative splicing results in multiple transcript variants. Related pseudogenes have been identified on chromosomes 2, 7 and 8. [provided by RefSeq, Jul 2010].
Kapoor-Vazirani, Vertino: "A dual role for the histone methyltransferase PR-SET7/SETD8 and histone H4 lysine 20 monomethylation in the local regulation of RNA polymerase II pausing." in: The Journal of biological chemistry, Vol. 289, Issue 11, pp. 7425-37, (2014) (PubMed).