MafA antibody - HS-521 003

Maf (musculoaponeurotic fibrosarcoma) family proteins belong to the basic-leucine zipper family of transcription factors and are divided into large Maf and small Maf proteins depending on their molecular size. Four types of large Maf transcription factors have been identified in mice and humans: MafA, MafB, c-Maf and NRL (1). MafA is a β-cell-specific transcription factor in adult pancreatic islets and regulates glucose-stimulated insulin secretion (2). MafB, on the other hand, is specifically expressed in glucagon-expressing α-cells in the pancreas of adult mice. In the embryonic or neonatal pancreas, immature β-cells first express MafB, whereas MafA is expressed in mature β-cells and is essential for the maintenance of the mature phenotype (3). Several studies have shown, that the expression of MafA is impaired in β-cells of rodents and humans with diabetes (3). In addition to its role in the pancreas, MafA is also involved in the development of neuronal cells. For example, MafA is involved in the development of glutamatergic neurons in the olfactory bulb (4) and of dorsal root ganglia in the spinal cord (5).