NKX2-5 and atrial fibrillation: However, mutations in genes encoding the transcription factors Nkx2-5 (Huang et al. 2013; Xie et al. 2013), Pitx2c (Qiu et al. 2014; Wang et al. 2014), and GATA6 (Li et al. 2012) are all associated with atrial fibrillation; these genes are known to be required for cardiovascular development.