Dear reader, this GitHub repository is the deposit of source codes for the bioinformatic analyses in the paper:

MafB is a conserved transcriptional regulator of macrophage development and functional identity across tissues and species

Authors

Domien Vanneste^1,2,*, Wen Peng^1,2, Zhuangzhuang Liu^3,4, Malik Hamaïdia⁵, Raphaël La Rocca^1,2, Joan Abinet^1,2, Alexis Balthazar^2,6, Fabienne Perin⁷, Alexandre Hego⁸, Didier Cataldo⁷, Fabrice Bureau^2,9, Philippe Compère^10,11, Bénédicte Machiels^2,6, Charlotte L. Scott^3,4, Coraline Radermecker^1,2 & Thomas Marichal^1,2,12,13,*

Affiliations

¹Laboratory of Immunophysiology, GIGA Institute, University of Liège, Liège, Belgium
²Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Liège, Liège, Belgium
³Laboratory of Myeloid Cell Biology in Tissue Damage and Inflammation, VIB-UGent Center for Inflammation Research, Ghent, Belgium
⁴Department of Biomedical Molecular Biology, Faculty of Science, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
⁵Laboratory of Cellular and Molecular Epigenetics, GIGA Institute, University of Liège, Liège, Belgium
⁶Laboratory of Immunology-Vaccinology, FARAH Institute, University of Liège, Liège, Belgium
⁷Laboratory of Tumour and Development Biology, GIGA Institute, University of Liège, Liège, Belgium
⁸In Vitro Imaging Platform, GIGA Institute, University of Liège, Liège, Belgium
⁹Laboratory of Cellular and Molecular Immunology, GIGA Institute, University of Liège, Liège, Belgium
¹⁰Laboratory of Functional and Evolutionary Morphology, FOCUS Research Unit, Department of Biology, Ecology and Evolution, University of Liège, Liège, Belgium
¹¹Center for Applied Research and Education in Microscopy (CAREM) and Biomaterials Interfaculty Center (CEIB), University of Liège, Liège, Belgium
¹²Walloon Excellence in Life Sciences and Biotechnology (WELBIO) Department, WEL Research Institute, Wavre, Belgium
¹³Lead contact
^*Correspondence: domien.vanneste@uliege.be (D.V.) and t.marichal@uliege.be (T.M.)

Abstract

Homeostatic resident tissue macrophages (RTMs) exhibit diversity across tissues but also share common features that are driven by conserved transcriptional programs. While the transcription factor MafB is highly expressed in macrophages, its role in establishing RTM identity and functions remains unclear. Here we show that MafB was required for the development of bone-marrow-derived macrophages (BMDMs) and most RTMs in vivo. MafB deficiency retained RTM in a CD52^high immature stage and disrupted global and tissue-specific identities and functions, impairing phagocytosis, splenic iron recycling, and lung, kidney and gut physiology. Epigenetic profiling revealed that MafB directly regulated key RTM genes in mouse and humans, including Csf1r, Mertk, Fcgr1, Cd163 and Zeb2. In silico analyses further demonstrated strong evolutionary conservation of MafB binding sites across vertebrates. Together, these findings establish MafB as a crucial regulator of RTM development and functional identity, linking MafB-dependent transcriptional programs with defining features of RTMs and tissue homeostasis.

Citation

Vanneste, D., Peng, W., Liu, Z., Hamaïdia, M., La Rocca, R., Abinet, J., Balthazar, A., Perin, F., Hego, A., Cataldo, D., Bureau, F., Compère, P., Machiels, B., Scott, C. L., Radermecker, C., & Marichal, T. (2026). MafB is a conserved transcriptional regulator of macrophage development and functional identity across tissues and species. Immunity, S1074-7613(26)00033-6. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.immuni.2026.01.012