Daminozide is a highly selective inhibitor of the human 2-oxoglutarate (JmjC) histone demethylases KDM2A, PHF8, and KDM7A with IC50 values of 1.5, 0.55, and 2.1 μM, respectively. When tested for inhibition of other demethylase subfamily members (KDM3, KDM4, KDM5, KDM6) and other 2OG oxygenases (FIH, PHD2, BBOX1), daminozide was considerably less potent (IC50s > 100 μM). Daminozide is known to retard plant growth and was widely used in the 1960s for agricultural and horticultural applications to control plant size and fruit ripening before it was withdrawn because of carcinogenicity concerns.
