ELF4 Gene

HGNC Family	Helix-turn-helix ETS type domain containing
Name	E74-like factor 4 (ets domain transcription factor)
Description	The protein encoded by this gene is a transcriptional activator that binds and activates the promoters of the CSF2, IL3, IL8, and PRF1 genes. The encoded protein is involved in natural killer cell development and function, innate immunity, and induction of cell cycle arrest in naive CD8+ cells. Two transcript variants encoding the same protein have been found for this gene.[provided by RefSeq, Jan 2010]
Summary	{"type": "root", "children": [{"type": "p", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "\n ELF4 (also known as MEF) is an ETS‐family transcription factor with diverse roles in hematopoietic homeostasis, immune regulation, and oncogenesis. In hematopoietic stem cells, ELF4 helps modulate cell‐cycle entry and quiescence, as loss of ELF4 leads to enhanced p53‐dependent quiescence and altered stem cell function."}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_f", "ref": "1"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " In the adaptive immune system, ELF4 is upregulated following T cell receptor engagement and enforces cell‐cycle arrest in naïve CD8⁺ T cells by activating the expression of the tumor suppressor KLF4, while its activity also limits Th17 differentiation and thereby restrains proinflammatory responses."}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_fs", "start_ref": "3", "end_ref": "5"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " In innate immunity, ELF4 is itself induced by type I interferon and reinforces interferon production through a feed‐forward loop; additionally, it governs the expression of microRNAs (such as miR-221) that modulate antiviral responses."}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_f", "ref": "6"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " In epithelial cells, ELF4 directly activates genes such as interleukin-8 via binding to conserved ETS sites, contributing to inflammatory signaling."}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_f", "ref": "8"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " Dysregulated ELF4 activity can promote tumorigenesis—notably by upregulating Mdm2 and inhibiting p53 and p16/Rb pathways—and oncogenic ELF4 fusions (e.g., an ELF4-ERG chimera) have been identified in acute myeloid leukemia."}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_f", "ref": "9"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " In addition, ELF4 can support stem-like properties in glioma by activating Sox2 expression"}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_f", "ref": "11"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": "and has been implicated in the regulation of osteoblast differentiation through interactions with Runx2."}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_f", "ref": "12"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " Furthermore, studies of ELF4’s own regulation have shown that its nuclear localization and transactivation functions are mediated by distinct protein domains, and its transcription is controlled by factors such as Sp1."}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_f", "ref": "13"}, {"type": "fg_f", "ref": "2"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": "\n "}]}, {"type": "rg", "children": [{"type": "r", "ref": 1, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Yan Liu, Shannon E Elf, Yasuhiko Miyata, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "p53 regulates hematopoietic stem cell quiescence."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Cell Stem Cell (2009)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1016/j.stem.2008.11.006"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.stem.2008.11.006"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "19128791"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19128791"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 2, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Tomoaki Koga, Mary Ann Suico, Hideaki Nakamura, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Sp1-dependent regulation of Myeloid Elf-1 like factor in human epithelial cells."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "FEBS Lett (2005)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1016/j.febslet.2005.04.015"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.febslet.2005.04.015"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "15907486"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15907486"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 3, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Takeshi Yamada, Chun Shik Park, Maksim Mamonkin, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Transcription factor ELF4 controls the proliferation and homing of CD8+ T cells via the Krüppel-like factors KLF4 and KLF2."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Nat Immunol (2009)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1038/ni.1730"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1038/ni.1730"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "19412182"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19412182"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 4, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Takeshi Yamada, Kirsten Gierach, Ping-Hsien Lee, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Cutting edge: Expression of the transcription factor E74-like factor 4 is regulated by the mammalian target of rapamycin pathway in CD8+ T cells."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "J Immunol (2010)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.4049/jimmunol.1000718"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.4049/jimmunol.1000718"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "20802152"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20802152"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 5, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Ping-Hsien Lee, Monica Puppi, Kimberly S Schluns, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "The transcription factor E74-like factor 4 suppresses differentiation of proliferating CD4+ T cells to the Th17 lineage."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "J Immunol (2014)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.4049/jimmunol.1301372"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.4049/jimmunol.1301372"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "24259505"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24259505"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 6, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Fuping You, Penghua Wang, Long Yang, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "ELF4 is critical for induction of type I interferon and the host antiviral response."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Nat Immunol (2013)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1038/ni.2756"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1038/ni.2756"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "24185615"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24185615"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 7, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Hongqiang Du, Shuang Cui, Yunfei Li, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "MiR-221 negatively regulates innate anti-viral response."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "PLoS One (2018)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1371/journal.pone.0200385"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0200385"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "30089112"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30089112"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 8, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Cyrus V Hedvat, JinJuan Yao, Robert A Sokolic, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Myeloid ELF1-like factor is a potent activator of interleukin-8 expression in hematopoietic cells."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "J Biol Chem (2004)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1074/jbc.M307524200"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1074/jbc.M307524200"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "14625302"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/14625302"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 9, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Goro Sashida, Yan Liu, Shannon Elf, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "ELF4/MEF activates MDM2 expression and blocks oncogene-induced p16 activation to promote transformation."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Mol Cell Biol (2009)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1128/MCB.01551-08"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1128/MCB.01551-08"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "19380490"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19380490"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 10, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Steven D P Moore, Onyinye Offor, Judith A Ferry, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "ELF4 is fused to ERG in a case of acute myeloid leukemia with a t(X;21)(q25-26;q22)."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Leuk Res (2006)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1016/j.leukres.2005.10.014"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.leukres.2005.10.014"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "16303180"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16303180"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 11, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Elena Bazzoli, Teodoro Pulvirenti, Moritz C Oberstadt, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "MEF promotes stemness in the pathogenesis of gliomas."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Cell Stem Cell (2012)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1016/j.stem.2012.09.012"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.stem.2012.09.012"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "23217424"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23217424"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 12, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Youn-Jeong Kim, Byung-Gyu Kim, Seung-Jin Lee, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "The suppressive effect of myeloid Elf-1-like factor (MEF) in osteogenic differentiation."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "J Cell Physiol (2007)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1002/jcp.20933"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1002/jcp.20933"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "17167770"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17167770"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 13, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Mary Ann Suico, Hiroki Yoshida, Yoshiyuki Seki, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Myeloid Elf-1-like factor, an ETS transcription factor, up-regulates lysozyme transcription in epithelial cells through interaction with promyelocytic leukemia protein."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "J Biol Chem (2004)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1074/jbc.M312439200"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1074/jbc.M312439200"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "14976184"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/14976184"}]}]}]}
Synonyms	ELFR, MEF
Proteins	ELF4_HUMAN
NCBI Gene ID	2000
API
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Predicted Functions
Co-expressed Genes
Expression in Tissues and Cell Lines

Functional Associations

ELF4 has 7,453 functional associations with biological entities spanning 9 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, sequence feature) extracted from 119 datasets.

Click the + buttons to view associations for ELF4 from the datasets below.

If available, associations are ranked by standardized value

Harmonizome 3.0

ELF4 Gene

Functional Associations

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

	Dataset	Summary
	Allen Brain Atlas Adult Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles	tissues with high or low expression of ELF4 gene relative to other tissues from the Allen Brain Atlas Adult Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	Allen Brain Atlas Adult Mouse Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles	tissues with high or low expression of ELF4 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 ELF4 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 ELF4 gene relative to other tissue samples from the Allen Brain Atlas Developing Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles by Microarray dataset.
	Allen Brain Atlas Developing Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles by RNA-seq	tissue samples with high or low expression of ELF4 gene relative to other tissue samples from the Allen Brain Atlas Developing Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles by RNA-seq dataset.
	Allen Brain Atlas Prenatal Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles	tissues with high or low expression of ELF4 gene relative to other tissues from the Allen Brain Atlas Prenatal Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	BioGPS Cell Line Gene Expression Profiles	cell lines with high or low expression of ELF4 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 ELF4 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 ELF4 gene relative to other cell types and tissues from the BioGPS Mouse Cell Type and Tissue Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	Carcinogenome Chemical Perturbation Carcinogenicity Signatures	small molecule perturbations changing expression of ELF4 gene from the Carcinogenome Chemical Perturbation Carcinogenicity Signatures dataset.
	CCLE Cell Line Gene CNV Profiles	cell lines with high or low copy number of ELF4 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 ELF4 gene relative to other cell lines from the CCLE Cell Line Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	CCLE Cell Line Gene Mutation Profiles	cell lines with ELF4 gene mutations from the CCLE Cell Line Gene Mutation Profiles dataset.
	CCLE Cell Line Proteomics	Cell lines associated with ELF4 protein from the CCLE Cell Line Proteomics dataset.
	ChEA Transcription Factor Binding Site Profiles	transcription factor binding site profiles with transcription factor binding evidence at the promoter of ELF4 gene from the CHEA Transcription Factor Binding Site Profiles dataset.
	ChEA Transcription Factor Targets	transcription factors binding the promoter of ELF4 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 ELF4 gene in low- or high-throughput transcription factor functional studies from the CHEA Transcription Factor Targets 2022 dataset.
	CM4AI KOLF21J CRISPRi Gene Perturbation Atlas	gene perturbations changing expression of ELF4 gene from the CM4AI KOLF21J CRISPRi Gene Perturbation Atlas dataset.
	CMAP Signatures of Differentially Expressed Genes for Small Molecules	small molecule perturbations changing expression of ELF4 gene from the CMAP Signatures of Differentially Expressed Genes for Small Molecules dataset.
	COMPARTMENTS Curated Protein Localization Evidence Scores	cellular components containing ELF4 protein from the COMPARTMENTS Curated Protein Localization Evidence Scores dataset.
	COMPARTMENTS Curated Protein Localization Evidence Scores 2025	cellular components containing ELF4 protein from the COMPARTMENTS Curated Protein Localization Evidence Scores 2025 dataset.
	COMPARTMENTS Experimental Protein Localization Evidence Scores	cellular components containing ELF4 protein in low- or high-throughput protein localization assays from the COMPARTMENTS Experimental Protein Localization Evidence Scores dataset.
	COMPARTMENTS Text-mining Protein Localization Evidence Scores	cellular components co-occuring with ELF4 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 ELF4 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 ELF4 gene relative to other cell lines from the COSMIC Cell Line Gene CNV Profiles dataset.
	COSMIC Cell Line Gene Mutation Profiles	cell lines with ELF4 gene mutations from the COSMIC Cell Line Gene Mutation Profiles dataset.
	CTD Gene-Disease Associations	diseases associated with ELF4 gene/protein from the curated CTD Gene-Disease Associations dataset.
	DeepCoverMOA Drug Mechanisms of Action	small molecule perturbations with high or low expression of ELF4 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 ELF4 gene knockdown relative to other cell lines from the DepMap CRISPR Gene Dependency dataset.
	DISEASES Curated Gene-Disease Association Evidence Scores	diseases involving ELF4 gene from the DISEASES Curated Gene-Disease Assocation Evidence Scores dataset.
	DISEASES Curated Gene-Disease Association Evidence Scores 2025	diseases involving ELF4 gene from the DISEASES Curated Gene-Disease Association Evidence Scores 2025 dataset.
	DISEASES Experimental Gene-Disease Association Evidence Scores	diseases associated with ELF4 gene in GWAS datasets from the DISEASES Experimental Gene-Disease Assocation Evidence Scores dataset.
	DISEASES Text-mining Gene-Disease Association Evidence Scores	diseases co-occuring with ELF4 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 ELF4 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 ELF4 gene in GWAS and other genetic association datasets from the DisGeNET Gene-Disease Associations dataset.
	DisGeNET Gene-Phenotype Associations	phenotypes associated with ELF4 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 ELF4 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 ELF4 gene from the ENCODE Transcription Factor Binding Site Profiles dataset.
	ENCODE Transcription Factor Targets	transcription factors binding the promoter of ELF4 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 ELF4 from the ESCAPE Omics Signatures of Genes and Proteins for Stem Cells dataset.