Human HDAC7 is composed of 912 amino acid residues. Althoμgh HDAC7 is localized mostly to the cell nucleus, it is also found in the cytoplasm, sμggesting nucleo-cytoplasmic shuttling. The histone deacetylase activity of HDAC7 maps to a carboxy-terminal domain and is dependent on interaction with class I HDACs in the nucleus. HDAC7 catalyzes removal of acetyl-groups from acetyl-lysines of histones and promotes compaction of chromatin in these regions, leading to the inhibition of gene transcription.