mafA, a novel member of the maf proto-oncogene family, displays developmental regulation and mitogenic capacity in avian neuroretina cells.

Transcription factors of the Maf proto-oncogene family have been shown to participate in the regulation of several differentiation specific genes. We previously reported that a member(s) of this family is involved in the regulation of the neuroretina specific gene, QR1, through a promoter region, designated the A box, that is closely related to the Maf recognition element (MARE). We undertook an identification of Maf family genes expressed in the quail neuroretina (QNR) and we report the isolation of mafA, a gene encoding a novel member of the large Maf proteins subgroup. Expression of this gene is developmentally regulated in the neuroretina. MafA is able to bind to MARE sequence and to heterodimerize with v-Maf, MafB, Jun and Fos, but not with the small MafF and MafK proteins. Accordingly, it is able to transactivate the QR1 promoter A box. We also show that increased expression of mafA induces sustained proliferation of postmitotic QNR cells.