In addition, depletion of PHF13 downregulated SNAI1-dependent genes, such as MMP2 and MMP9. Thus, a novel epigenetic regulator pathway has been hypothesized to explain PHF13-mediated cancer-cell invasion, in which the H3K4me3 reader PHF13 stabilizes the TGFβ-activated broad H3K4me3 domain to maintain the highly transcribed level of SNAI1, thereby triggers a transcriptional program leading to EMT. The gene discussed is MMP2; the disease is cancer.