MAFK is a member of the bZIP family and Maf subfamily. Members from Maf family of basic region/leucine zipper （bZIP） transcription factors influence transcription in a positive or negative way， depending on their protein associate and the context of the target promoter. Small Mafs act as transcriptional repressors when they dimerize among themselves. Yet， they seem to function as transcriptional activators by dimerizing with other basic-zipper proteins and employing them to specific DNA-binding sites.
