MAFF Gene

Name	v-maf avian musculoaponeurotic fibrosarcoma oncogene homolog F
Description	The protein encoded by this gene is a basic leucine zipper (bZIP) transcription factor that lacks a transactivation domain. It is known to bind the US-2 DNA element in the promoter of the oxytocin receptor (OTR) gene and most likely heterodimerizes with other leucine zipper-containing proteins to enhance expression of the OTR gene during term pregnancy. The encoded protein can also form homodimers, and since it lacks a transactivation domain, the homodimer may act as a repressor of transcription. This gene may also be involved in the cellular stress response. Multiple transcript variants encoding two different isoforms have been found for this gene. [provided by RefSeq, Jun 2009]
Summary	{"type": "root", "children": [{"type": "p", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "\n MAFF belongs to the small Maf family of basic leucine zipper transcription factors that lack intrinsic transactivation domains and instead act as obligate partners for other transcription factors such as Nrf2. In several contexts, MAFF contributes to transcriptional regulation in response to oxidative and inflammatory stress:\n "}]}, {"type": "t", "text": "\n <ul>\n <li>\n In lung endothelial cells, MAFF is upregulated by the mitochondria‐targeted antioxidant mitoQ. Its increased expression, together with enhanced nuclear translocation of Nrf2, promotes the activation of downstream antioxidant response element (ARE)–dependent genes. This Nrf2–MAFF/ARE pathway helps maintain mitochondrial homeostasis, reduce reactive oxygen species, and limit apoptosis and endothelial disruption during acute lung injury"}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_f", "ref": "1"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": "\n </li>\n <li>\n In uterine smooth muscle cells, MAFF transcript and protein levels are rapidly induced by proinflammatory cytokines (such as interleukin‑1β and tumor necrosis factor). Unlike its highly homologous relatives (MAFG and MAFK), the selective responsiveness of MAFF to cytokines suggests that it may uniquely contribute to the modulation of gene expression during inflammatory responses in the myometrium"}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_f", "ref": "2"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": "\n </li>\n <li>\n In pancreatic β‑cells, a proper level of small Maf proteins—including MAFF—is essential for supporting the expression of antioxidant genes, preserving mitochondrial function, and preventing oxidative stress–induced apoptosis. Disruption of these proteins leads to compromised antioxidant defenses, highlighting their role in cellular survival during stress"}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_f", "ref": "3"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": "\n </li>\n <li>\n In the liver, MAFF emerges as a central regulator within a gene network linked to atherosclerosis and coronary artery disease. Under noninflammatory conditions, MAFF expression correlates positively with the low‐density lipoprotein receptor (LDLR), supporting lipid metabolism. However, in an inflammatory setting, MAFF can form heterodimers with transcriptional repressors such as BACH1, which then bind to MAF recognition elements on the LDLR promoter to downregulate its expression. This context‐dependent regulation underscores its role in metabolic and inflammatory pathways"}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_f", "ref": "4"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": "\n </li>\n </ul>\n "}, {"type": "p", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "\n In summary, MAFF functions as a context-dependent transcriptional regulator. By partnering with factors like Nrf2 and BACH1, it plays pivotal roles in mediating antioxidant defenses, maintaining cellular homeostasis, and modulating inflammatory responses in diverse tissues.\n "}]}, {"type": "rg", "children": [{"type": "r", "ref": 1, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Mengyuan Cen, Wei Ouyang, Wanying Zhang, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "MitoQ protects against hyperpermeability of endothelium barrier in acute lung injury via a Nrf2-dependent mechanism."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Redox Biol (2021)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1016/j.redox.2021.101936"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.redox.2021.101936"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "33752110"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33752110"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 2, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Wael Massrieh, Anna Derjuga, Florence Doualla-Bell, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Regulation of the MAFF transcription factor by proinflammatory cytokines in myometrial cells."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Biol Reprod (2006)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1095/biolreprod.105.045450"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1095/biolreprod.105.045450"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "16371591"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16371591"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 3, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Mohammed Bensellam, Magdalene K Montgomery, Jude Luzuriaga, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Inhibitor of differentiation proteins protect against oxidative stress by regulating the antioxidant-mitochondrial response in mouse beta cells."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Diabetologia (2015)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1007/s00125-015-3503-1"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1007/s00125-015-3503-1"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "25636209"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25636209"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 4, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Moritz von Scheidt, Yuqi Zhao, Thomas Q de Aguiar Vallim, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Transcription Factor MAFF (MAF Basic Leucine Zipper Transcription Factor F) Regulates an Atherosclerosis Relevant Network Connecting Inflammation and Cholesterol Metabolism."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Circulation (2021)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.120.050186"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.120.050186"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "33626882"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33626882"}]}]}]}
Synonyms	HMAFF, U-MAF
Proteins	MAFF_HUMAN
NCBI Gene ID	23764
API
Download Associations
Predicted Functions
Co-expressed Genes
Expression in Tissues and Cell Lines

Functional Associations

MAFF has 14,959 functional associations with biological entities spanning 9 categories (molecular profile, organism, functional term, phrase or reference, chemical, disease, phenotype or trait, structural feature, cell line, cell type or tissue, gene, protein or microRNA, sequence feature) extracted from 124 datasets.

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

If available, associations are ranked by standardized value

Harmonizome 3.0

MAFF Gene

Functional Associations

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

	Dataset	Summary
	Achilles Cell Line Gene Essentiality Profiles	cell lines with fitness changed by MAFF gene knockdown relative to other cell lines from the Achilles Cell Line Gene Essentiality Profiles dataset.
	Allen Brain Atlas Adult Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles	tissues with high or low expression of MAFF 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 MAFF 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 MAFF 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 MAFF 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 MAFF 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 MAFF gene relative to other tissues from the Allen Brain Atlas Prenatal Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	Biocarta Pathways	pathways involving MAFF protein from the Biocarta Pathways dataset.
	BioGPS Cell Line Gene Expression Profiles	cell lines with high or low expression of MAFF 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 MAFF 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 MAFF 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 MAFF gene from the Carcinogenome Chemical Perturbation Carcinogenicity Signatures dataset.
	CCLE Cell Line Gene CNV Profiles	cell lines with high or low copy number of MAFF 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 MAFF gene relative to other cell lines from the CCLE Cell Line Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	CCLE Cell Line Proteomics	Cell lines associated with MAFF protein from the CCLE Cell Line Proteomics dataset.
	CellMarker Gene-Cell Type Associations	cell types associated with MAFF 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 MAFF gene from the CHEA Transcription Factor Binding Site Profiles dataset.
	ChEA Transcription Factor Targets	transcription factors binding the promoter of MAFF 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 MAFF gene in low- or high-throughput transcription factor functional studies from the CHEA Transcription Factor Targets 2022 dataset.
	CM4AI U2OS Cell Map Protein Localization Assemblies	assemblies containing MAFF protein from integrated AP-MS and IF data from the CM4AI U2OS Cell Map Protein Localization Assemblies dataset.
	CMAP Signatures of Differentially Expressed Genes for Small Molecules	small molecule perturbations changing expression of MAFF gene from the CMAP Signatures of Differentially Expressed Genes for Small Molecules dataset.
	COMPARTMENTS Curated Protein Localization Evidence Scores	cellular components containing MAFF protein from the COMPARTMENTS Curated Protein Localization Evidence Scores dataset.
	COMPARTMENTS Curated Protein Localization Evidence Scores 2025	cellular components containing MAFF protein from the COMPARTMENTS Curated Protein Localization Evidence Scores 2025 dataset.
	COMPARTMENTS Text-mining Protein Localization Evidence Scores	cellular components co-occuring with MAFF 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 MAFF 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 MAFF gene relative to other cell lines from the COSMIC Cell Line Gene CNV Profiles dataset.
	COSMIC Cell Line Gene Mutation Profiles	cell lines with MAFF gene mutations from the COSMIC Cell Line Gene Mutation Profiles dataset.
	CTD Gene-Chemical Interactions	chemicals interacting with MAFF gene/protein from the curated CTD Gene-Chemical Interactions dataset.
	CTD Gene-Disease Associations	diseases associated with MAFF gene/protein from the curated CTD Gene-Disease Associations dataset.
	DeepCoverMOA Drug Mechanisms of Action	small molecule perturbations with high or low expression of MAFF 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 MAFF gene knockdown relative to other cell lines from the DepMap CRISPR Gene Dependency dataset.
	DISEASES Experimental Gene-Disease Association Evidence Scores 2025	diseases associated with MAFF 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 MAFF 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 MAFF 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 MAFF gene in GWAS and other genetic association datasets from the DisGeNET Gene-Disease Associations dataset.
	DisGeNET Gene-Phenotype Associations	phenotypes associated with MAFF 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 MAFF 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 MAFF gene from the ENCODE Transcription Factor Binding Site Profiles dataset.
	ENCODE Transcription Factor Targets	transcription factors binding the promoter of MAFF 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 MAFF from the ESCAPE Omics Signatures of Genes and Proteins for Stem Cells dataset.