MAFK Gene

Name	v-maf avian musculoaponeurotic fibrosarcoma oncogene homolog K
Description	The developmentally regulated expression of the globin genes depends on upstream regulatory elements termed locus control regions (LCRs). LCRs are associated with powerful enhancer activity that is mediated by the transcription factor NFE2 (nuclear factor erythroid-2). NFE2 recognition sites are also present in the gene promoters of 2 heme biosynthetic enzymes, porphobilinogen deaminase (PBGD; MIM 609806) and ferrochelatase (FECH; MIM 612386). NFE2 DNA-binding activity consists of a heterodimer containing an 18-kD Maf protein (MafF, MafG (MIM 602020), or MafK) and p45 (MIM 601490). Both subunits are members of the activator protein-1 superfamily of basic leucine zipper (bZIP) proteins (see MIM 165160). Maf homodimers suppress transcription at NFE2 sites.[supplied by OMIM, Nov 2008]
Summary	{"type": "root", "children": [{"type": "p", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "\n MAFK is a small Maf protein that functions as an essential transcriptional partner in diverse cellular contexts by forming heterodimers with other bZIP factors. In several systems, MAFK has been shown to participate in both activation and repression of genes carrying Maf recognition elements (MAREs). For example, in the regulation of heme oxygenase‐1 (HO‐1), MAFK partners with Bach1 to bind enhancer regions and repress HO‐1 transcription, a mechanism that is reversed when cellular heme levels rise."}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_f", "ref": "1"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": "\n "}]}, {"type": "t", "text": "\n "}, {"type": "p", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "\n In the immune system, MAFK forms heterodimers with Bach2 to repress the expression of key differentiation regulators such as Blimp‐1, thereby delaying terminal plasma cell differentiation and ensuring proper B lymphocyte function."}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_f", "ref": "3"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": "\n "}]}, {"type": "t", "text": "\n "}, {"type": "p", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "\n Beyond its partnership with Bach proteins, MAFK also cooperates with other transcription factors. In the context of oxidative stress, MAFK is a vital component of the Nrf2 transcriptional complex where, together with cofactors such as JDP2, it helps orchestrate the expression of antioxidant genes, thereby contributing to the maintenance of redox homeostasis."}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_f", "ref": "5"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": "\n "}]}, {"type": "t", "text": "\n "}, {"type": "p", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "\n Moreover, MAFK has been implicated in the regulation of inflammatory responses. Overexpression of MAFK enhances NF‐κB activity by facilitating CBP‐dependent acetylation of the p65 subunit, which in turn augments the transcription of proinflammatory cytokines."}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_f", "ref": "6"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": "\n "}]}, {"type": "t", "text": "\n "}, {"type": "p", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "\n Finally, studies in the nervous system reveal that proper MAFK expression is crucial for maintaining neuronal gene regulation through MARE‐dependent transcription, with its deficiency contributing to neuromuscular dysfunction and selective neuronal degeneration."}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_f", "ref": "7"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": "\n "}]}, {"type": "t", "text": "\n "}, {"type": "p", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "\n In summary, MAFK acts as a versatile transcriptional modulator by partnering with distinct transcription factors to either activate or repress target genes. This dual functionality is central to its roles in controlling antioxidant responses, inflammatory signaling, immune cell differentiation, and neuronal integrity.\n "}]}, {"type": "rg", "children": [{"type": "r", "ref": 1, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Jiying Sun, Hideto Hoshino, Kazuaki Takaku, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Hemoprotein Bach1 regulates enhancer availability of heme oxygenase-1 gene."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "EMBO J (2002)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1093/emboj/cdf516"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1093/emboj/cdf516"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "12356737"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12356737"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 2, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Yukari Okita, Atsushi Kamoshida, Hiroyuki Suzuki, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Transforming growth factor-β induces transcription factors MafK and Bach1 to suppress expression of the heme oxygenase-1 gene."}]}, {"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.M113.450478"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1074/jbc.M113.450478"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "23737527"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23737527"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 3, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Kyoko Ochiai, Yasutake Katoh, Tsuyoshi Ikura, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Plasmacytic transcription factor Blimp-1 is repressed by Bach2 in B cells."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "J Biol Chem (2006)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1074/jbc.M607592200"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1074/jbc.M607592200"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "17046816"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17046816"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 4, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Chuanxin Huang, Huimin Geng, Isaac Boss, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Cooperative transcriptional repression by BCL6 and BACH2 in germinal center B-cell differentiation."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Blood (2014)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1182/blood-2013-07-518605"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1182/blood-2013-07-518605"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "24277074"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24277074"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 5, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "S Tanigawa, C H Lee, C S Lin, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Jun dimerization protein 2 is a critical component of the Nrf2/MafK complex regulating the response to ROS homeostasis."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Cell Death Dis (2013)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1038/cddis.2013.448"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1038/cddis.2013.448"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "24232097"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24232097"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 6, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Yu-Jin Hwang, Eun-Woo Lee, Jaewhan Song, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "MafK positively regulates NF-κB activity by enhancing CBP-mediated p65 acetylation."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Sci Rep (2013)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1038/srep03242"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1038/srep03242"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "24247732"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24247732"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 7, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Fumiki Katsuoka, Hozumi Motohashi, Yuna Tamagawa, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Small Maf compound mutants display central nervous system neuronal degeneration, aberrant transcription, and Bach protein mislocalization coincident with myoclonus and abnormal startle response."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Mol Cell Biol (2003)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1128/MCB.23.4.1163-1174.2003"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1128/MCB.23.4.1163-1174.2003"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "12556477"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12556477"}]}]}]}
Synonyms	NFE2U
Proteins	MAFK_HUMAN
NCBI Gene ID	7975
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Predicted Functions
Co-expressed Genes
Expression in Tissues and Cell Lines

Functional Associations

MAFK has 5,883 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 110 datasets.

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

If available, associations are ranked by standardized value

Harmonizome 3.0

MAFK 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 MAFK 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 MAFK 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 MAFK 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 MAFK 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 MAFK 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 MAFK 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 MAFK gene relative to other tissues from the Allen Brain Atlas Prenatal Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	Biocarta Pathways	pathways involving MAFK protein from the Biocarta Pathways dataset.
	BioGPS Cell Line Gene Expression Profiles	cell lines with high or low expression of MAFK 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 MAFK 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 MAFK 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 MAFK 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 MAFK gene relative to other cell lines from the CCLE Cell Line Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	CCLE Cell Line Proteomics	Cell lines associated with MAFK protein from the CCLE Cell Line Proteomics dataset.
	CellMarker Gene-Cell Type Associations	cell types associated with MAFK 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 MAFK gene from the CHEA Transcription Factor Binding Site Profiles dataset.
	ChEA Transcription Factor Targets	transcription factors binding the promoter of MAFK 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 MAFK 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 MAFK 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 MAFK gene from the CMAP Signatures of Differentially Expressed Genes for Small Molecules dataset.
	COMPARTMENTS Curated Protein Localization Evidence Scores	cellular components containing MAFK protein from the COMPARTMENTS Curated Protein Localization Evidence Scores dataset.
	COMPARTMENTS Experimental Protein Localization Evidence Scores	cellular components containing MAFK 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 MAFK 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 MAFK 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 MAFK gene relative to other cell lines from the COSMIC Cell Line Gene CNV Profiles dataset.
	COSMIC Cell Line Gene Mutation Profiles	cell lines with MAFK gene mutations from the COSMIC Cell Line Gene Mutation Profiles dataset.
	CTD Gene-Chemical Interactions	chemicals interacting with MAFK gene/protein from the curated CTD Gene-Chemical Interactions dataset.
	CTD Gene-Disease Associations	diseases associated with MAFK gene/protein from the curated CTD Gene-Disease Associations dataset.
	DeepCoverMOA Drug Mechanisms of Action	small molecule perturbations with high or low expression of MAFK 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 MAFK gene knockdown relative to other cell lines from the DepMap CRISPR Gene Dependency dataset.
	DISEASES Text-mining Gene-Disease Association Evidence Scores	diseases co-occuring with MAFK 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 MAFK 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 MAFK gene in GWAS and other genetic association datasets from the DisGeNET Gene-Disease Associations dataset.
	DisGeNET Gene-Phenotype Associations	phenotypes associated with MAFK 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 MAFK 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 MAFK gene from the ENCODE Transcription Factor Binding Site Profiles dataset.
	ENCODE Transcription Factor Targets	transcription factors binding the promoter of MAFK 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 MAFK from the ESCAPE Omics Signatures of Genes and Proteins for Stem Cells dataset.
	GDSC Cell Line Gene Expression Profiles	cell lines with high or low expression of MAFK gene relative to other cell lines from the GDSC Cell Line Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	GeneRIF Biological Term Annotations	biological terms co-occuring with MAFK gene in literature-supported statements describing functions of genes from the GeneRIF Biological Term Annotations dataset.