Mutations of histone demethylase genes encoded by X and Y chromosomes, Kdm5c and Kdm5d, lead to noncompaction cardiomyopathy in mice

Mammalian X and Y chromosomes evolved from a pair of autosomes. Although most ancestral genes have been lost from the Y chromosome, a small number of ancestral X–Y gene pairs are still present on the sex chromosomes. The KDM5C and KDM5D genes, which encode H3K4 histone demethylases, are a surviving ancestral gene pair located on the X and Y chromosomes, respectively. Mutations in KDM5C cause X-linked intellectual disability in human males, suggesting functional divergence between KDM5C and KDM5D in the nervous system. In this study, to explore the functional conservation and divergence between these two genes in other organs, we generated female mice lacking Kdm5c (homozygous X5c– X5c– females) and male mice lacking both Kdm5c and Kdm5d (compound hemizygous X5c– Y5d– males). Both X5c– X5c– females and X5c– Y5d– males showed lower body weights and postnatal lethality. Histological examination of the hearts showed prominent trabecular extension and a thin layer of compacted myocardium in the left and right ventricles, indicating noncompaction cardiomyopathy. However, hemizygous males lacking either Kdm5c or Kdm5d showed no signs of noncompaction cardiomyopathy. These results clearly demonstrate that the function of Kdm5c and Kdm5d in heart development is conserved. •Female mice lacking Kdm5c and male mice lacing both Kdm5c and Kdm5d were generated.•Both mice displayed noncompaction cardiomyopathy at neonates.•Kdm5c and Kdm5d functions redundantly in heart morphogenesis.•Kdm5c contributes predominantly to perinatal embryonic growth.