The AATF gene encodes a protein that was identified on the basis of its interaction with MAP3K12/DLK, a protein kinase known to be involved in the induction of cell apoptosis. This gene product contains a leucine zipper, which is a characteristic motif of transcription factors, and was shown to exhibit strong transactivation activity when fused to Gal4 DNA binding domain. Overexpression of this gene interfered with MAP3K12 induced apoptosis.