This gene encodes alpha-fetoprotein, a major plasma protein produced by the yolk sac and the liver during fetal life. Alpha-fetoprotein expression in adults is often associated with hepatocarcinoma and with teratoma, and has prognostic value for managing advanced gastric cancer. However, hereditary persistance of alpha-fetoprotein may also be found in individuals with no obvious pathology. The protein is thought to be the fetal counterpart of serum albumin, and the alpha-fetoprotein and albumin genes are present in tandem in the same transcriptional orientation on chromosome 4. Alpha-fetoprotein is found in monomeric as well as dimeric and trimeric forms, and binds copper, nickel, fatty acids and bilirubin. The level of alpha-fetoprotein in amniotic fluid is used to measure renal loss of protein to screen for spina bifida and anencephaly. [provided by RefSeq, Oct 2019]
Transcription factors with Perturb-seq knockdown data for AFP. The Binding column indicates whether any binding evidence exists for this TF–gene pair (ChIP-seq or motif footprint peaks). The Mean coef is the average Perturb-seq regression coefficient across active gRNAs (positive = AFP upregulated upon KD; negative = downregulated). The Outlier column indicates whether this gene is in the top or bottom 5% of all TF knockdown effects.
| TF | Mean coef | Binding | Outlier | TF→Gene link |
|---|
Open chromatin peaks (ATAC-seq) in the genomic neighbourhood of AFP, linked by TSS proximity or chromatin conformation (Multiome / HiCAR). Each element overlaps at least one TF ChIP-seq binding site — the TFs column shows how many distinct TFs bind that element.
| Accessibility | Element | Dist. to TSS | Link type | TFs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| chr4:73,445,486–73,445,681 | 4.9 kb | Proximal (<10kb) | 48 | |
| chr4:73,446,081–73,446,217 | 4.3 kb | Proximal (<10kb) | 67 | |
| chr4:73,446,437–73,446,625 | 3.9 kb | Proximal (<10kb) | 214 | |
| chr4:73,450,319–73,450,999 | at TSS | At TSS | 303 | |
| chr4:73,451,459–73,451,717 | 911 bp | At TSS | 138 | |
| chr4:73,453,118–73,453,703 | 2.6 kb | Proximal (<10kb) | 177 |
Genomic view of the AFP locus showing ATAC-seq accessibility and RNA-seq expression across the ESC → DE time course, together with TF binding peaks and element-to-TSS loop connections.