ELF3 Gene

HGNC Family	Helix-turn-helix ETS type domain containing
Name	E74-like factor 3 (ets domain transcription factor, epithelial-specific )
Description	Enables DNA-binding transcription activator activity, RNA polymerase II-specific and sequence-specific double-stranded DNA binding activity. Involved in inflammatory response; negative regulation of DNA-templated transcription; and positive regulation of transcription by RNA polymerase II. Located in Golgi apparatus; cytosol; and nucleoplasm. [provided by Alliance of Genome Resources, Mar 2025]
Summary	{"type": "root", "children": [{"type": "p", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "\n ELF3, an E74‐like ETS transcription factor, plays multifaceted and context‐dependent roles in cancer. In hepatocellular carcinoma, increased ELF3 expression is associated with an aggressive phenotype by promoting cell proliferation, migration, invasion, and the epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT). Mechanistically, ELF3 represses miR‑141‑3p transcription through direct binding to its promoter, thereby alleviating inhibition of ZEB1 and leading to reduced E‑cadherin expression ["}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_f", "ref": "1"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": "]. In colorectal cancer, recurrent amplification and upregulation of Elf3 drives β‑catenin transactivation by binding directly to the β‑catenin promoter, which enhances Wnt signaling and correlates with poor patient survival ["}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_f", "ref": "2"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": "]. In contrast, studies in ovarian cancer have revealed that ELF3 expression marks a favorable prognosis; here, higher levels of ELF3 inhibit cell proliferation and attenuate EMT—evidenced by increased epithelial and decreased mesenchymal marker expression—thereby functioning as a tumor suppressor ["}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_f", "ref": "3"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": "]. Moreover, in prostate cancer, the ETS factor known as ESE1/ELF3 is overexpressed and acts in an oncogenic manner by promoting transformation and mediating inflammatory transcriptome changes through interactions with NF‑κB subunits ["}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_f", "ref": "4"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": "]. Additionally, in the context of catabolic gene regulation, ELF3 serves as one of several positive transcriptional regulators of MMP13 whose activity appears robust against promoter methylation changes ["}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_f", "ref": "5"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": "]. Collectively, these studies underscore the complex, tissue‑specific functions of ELF3 in modulating key pathways such as EMT and Wnt signaling, with potential implications for its use as a prognostic biomarker and therapeutic target in diverse malignancies (1,2,3,4,5).\n "}]}, {"type": "rg", "children": [{"type": "r", "ref": 1, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Longbo Zheng, Ming Xu, Junjie Xu, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "ELF3 promotes epithelial-mesenchymal transition by protecting ZEB1 from miR-141-3p-mediated silencing in hepatocellular carcinoma."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Cell Death Dis (2018)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1038/s41419-018-0399-y"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1038/s41419-018-0399-y"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "29523781"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29523781"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 2, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "J-L Wang, Z-F Chen, H-M Chen, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Elf3 drives β-catenin transactivation and associates with poor prognosis in colorectal cancer."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Cell Death Dis (2014)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1038/cddis.2014.206"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1038/cddis.2014.206"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "24874735"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24874735"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 3, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Tsz-Lun Yeung, Cecilia S Leung, Kwong-Kwok Wong, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "ELF3 is a negative regulator of epithelial-mesenchymal transition in ovarian cancer cells."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Oncotarget (2017)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.18632/oncotarget.15208"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.18632/oncotarget.15208"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "28199976"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28199976"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 4, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Nicole Longoni, Manuela Sarti, Domenico Albino, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "ETS transcription factor ESE1/ELF3 orchestrates a positive feedback loop that constitutively activates NF-κB and drives prostate cancer progression."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Cancer Res (2013)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-12-4537"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-12-4537"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "23687337"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23687337"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 5, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Ko Hashimoto, Miguel Otero, Kei Imagawa, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Regulated transcription of human matrix metalloproteinase 13 (MMP13) and interleukin-1β (IL1B) genes in chondrocytes depends on methylation of specific proximal promoter CpG sites."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "J Biol Chem (2013)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1074/jbc.M112.421156"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1074/jbc.M112.421156"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "23417678"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23417678"}]}]}]}
Synonyms	ERT, ESE-1, ESX
Proteins	ELF3_HUMAN
NCBI Gene ID	1999
API
Download Associations
Predicted Functions
Co-expressed Genes
Expression in Tissues and Cell Lines

Functional Associations

ELF3 has 10,786 functional associations with biological entities spanning 8 categories (molecular profile, organism, chemical, functional term, phrase or reference, disease, phenotype or trait, structural feature, cell line, cell type or tissue, gene, protein or microRNA) extracted from 116 datasets.

Click the + buttons to view associations for ELF3 from the datasets below.

If available, associations are ranked by standardized value

Harmonizome 3.0

ELF3 Gene

Functional Associations

Please acknowledge the Harmonizome in your publications by citing the following reference(s):

	Dataset	Summary
	Allen Brain Atlas Adult Mouse Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles	tissues with high or low expression of ELF3 gene relative to other tissues from the Allen Brain Atlas Adult Mouse Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	Allen Brain Atlas Aging Dementia and Traumatic Brain Injury Tissue Sample Gene Expression Profiles	tissue samples with high or low expression of ELF3 gene relative to other tissue samples from the Allen Brain Atlas Aging Dementia and Traumatic Brain Injury Tissue Sample Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	Allen Brain Atlas Developing Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles by Microarray	tissue samples with high or low expression of ELF3 gene relative to other tissue samples from the Allen Brain Atlas Developing Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles by Microarray dataset.
	BioGPS Cell Line Gene Expression Profiles	cell lines with high or low expression of ELF3 gene relative to other cell lines from the BioGPS Cell Line Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	BioGPS Human Cell Type and Tissue Gene Expression Profiles	cell types and tissues with high or low expression of ELF3 gene relative to other cell types and tissues from the BioGPS Human Cell Type and Tissue Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	BioGPS Mouse Cell Type and Tissue Gene Expression Profiles	cell types and tissues with high or low expression of ELF3 gene relative to other cell types and tissues from the BioGPS Mouse Cell Type and Tissue Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	CCLE Cell Line Gene CNV Profiles	cell lines with high or low copy number of ELF3 gene relative to other cell lines from the CCLE Cell Line Gene CNV Profiles dataset.
	CCLE Cell Line Gene Expression Profiles	cell lines with high or low expression of ELF3 gene relative to other cell lines from the CCLE Cell Line Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	CCLE Cell Line Proteomics	Cell lines associated with ELF3 protein from the CCLE Cell Line Proteomics dataset.
	CellMarker Gene-Cell Type Associations	cell types associated with ELF3 gene from the CellMarker Gene-Cell Type Associations dataset.
	ChEA Transcription Factor Binding Site Profiles	transcription factor binding site profiles with transcription factor binding evidence at the promoter of ELF3 gene from the CHEA Transcription Factor Binding Site Profiles dataset.
	ChEA Transcription Factor Targets	transcription factors binding the promoter of ELF3 gene in low- or high-throughput transcription factor functional studies from the CHEA Transcription Factor Targets dataset.
	ChEA Transcription Factor Targets 2022	transcription factors binding the promoter of ELF3 gene in low- or high-throughput transcription factor functional studies from the CHEA Transcription Factor Targets 2022 dataset.
	CMAP Signatures of Differentially Expressed Genes for Small Molecules	small molecule perturbations changing expression of ELF3 gene from the CMAP Signatures of Differentially Expressed Genes for Small Molecules dataset.
	COMPARTMENTS Curated Protein Localization Evidence Scores	cellular components containing ELF3 protein from the COMPARTMENTS Curated Protein Localization Evidence Scores dataset.
	COMPARTMENTS Curated Protein Localization Evidence Scores 2025	cellular components containing ELF3 protein from the COMPARTMENTS Curated Protein Localization Evidence Scores 2025 dataset.
	COMPARTMENTS Text-mining Protein Localization Evidence Scores	cellular components co-occuring with ELF3 protein in abstracts of biomedical publications from the COMPARTMENTS Text-mining Protein Localization Evidence Scores dataset.
	COMPARTMENTS Text-mining Protein Localization Evidence Scores 2025	cellular components co-occuring with ELF3 protein in abstracts of biomedical publications from the COMPARTMENTS Text-mining Protein Localization Evidence Scores 2025 dataset.
	COSMIC Cell Line Gene CNV Profiles	cell lines with high or low copy number of ELF3 gene relative to other cell lines from the COSMIC Cell Line Gene CNV Profiles dataset.
	COSMIC Cell Line Gene Mutation Profiles	cell lines with ELF3 gene mutations from the COSMIC Cell Line Gene Mutation Profiles dataset.
	CTD Gene-Chemical Interactions	chemicals interacting with ELF3 gene/protein from the curated CTD Gene-Chemical Interactions dataset.
	CTD Gene-Disease Associations	diseases associated with ELF3 gene/protein from the curated CTD Gene-Disease Associations dataset.
	DeepCoverMOA Drug Mechanisms of Action	small molecule perturbations with high or low expression of ELF3 protein relative to other small molecule perturbations from the DeepCoverMOA Drug Mechanisms of Action dataset.
	DepMap CRISPR Gene Dependency	cell lines with fitness changed by ELF3 gene knockdown relative to other cell lines from the DepMap CRISPR Gene Dependency dataset.
	DISEASES Curated Gene-Disease Association Evidence Scores 2025	diseases involving ELF3 gene from the DISEASES Curated Gene-Disease Association Evidence Scores 2025 dataset.
	DISEASES Experimental Gene-Disease Association Evidence Scores 2025	diseases associated with ELF3 gene in GWAS datasets from the DISEASES Experimental Gene-Disease Assocation Evidence Scores 2025 dataset.
	DISEASES Text-mining Gene-Disease Association Evidence Scores	diseases co-occuring with ELF3 gene in abstracts of biomedical publications from the DISEASES Text-mining Gene-Disease Assocation Evidence Scores dataset.
	DISEASES Text-mining Gene-Disease Association Evidence Scores 2025	diseases co-occuring with ELF3 gene in abstracts of biomedical publications from the DISEASES Text-mining Gene-Disease Assocation Evidence Scores 2025 dataset.
	DisGeNET Gene-Disease Associations	diseases associated with ELF3 gene in GWAS and other genetic association datasets from the DisGeNET Gene-Disease Associations dataset.
	DisGeNET Gene-Phenotype Associations	phenotypes associated with ELF3 gene in GWAS and other genetic association datasets from the DisGeNET Gene-Phenoptype Associations dataset.
	ENCODE Histone Modification Site Profiles	histone modification site profiles with high histone modification abundance at ELF3 gene from the ENCODE Histone Modification Site Profiles dataset.
	ENCODE Transcription Factor Binding Site Profiles	transcription factor binding site profiles with transcription factor binding evidence at the promoter of ELF3 gene from the ENCODE Transcription Factor Binding Site Profiles dataset.
	ENCODE Transcription Factor Targets	transcription factors binding the promoter of ELF3 gene in ChIP-seq datasets from the ENCODE Transcription Factor Targets dataset.
	ESCAPE Omics Signatures of Genes and Proteins for Stem Cells	PubMedIDs of publications reporting gene signatures containing ELF3 from the ESCAPE Omics Signatures of Genes and Proteins for Stem Cells dataset.
	GAD High Level Gene-Disease Associations	diseases associated with ELF3 gene in GWAS and other genetic association datasets from the GAD High Level Gene-Disease Associations dataset.
	GDSC Cell Line Gene Expression Profiles	cell lines with high or low expression of ELF3 gene relative to other cell lines from the GDSC Cell Line Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	GeneRIF Biological Term Annotations	biological terms co-occuring with ELF3 gene in literature-supported statements describing functions of genes from the GeneRIF Biological Term Annotations dataset.
	GeneSigDB Published Gene Signatures	PubMedIDs of publications reporting gene signatures containing ELF3 from the GeneSigDB Published Gene Signatures dataset.
	GEO Signatures of Differentially Expressed Genes for Diseases	disease perturbations changing expression of ELF3 gene from the GEO Signatures of Differentially Expressed Genes for Diseases dataset.
	GEO Signatures of Differentially Expressed Genes for Gene Perturbations	gene perturbations changing expression of ELF3 gene from the GEO Signatures of Differentially Expressed Genes for Gene Perturbations dataset.