Ribosomes, the organelles that catalyze protein synthesis, consist of a small 40S subunit and a large 60S subunit. Together these subunits are composed of 4 RNA species and approximately 80 structurally distinct proteins. This gene encodes a ribosomal protein that is a component of the 60S subunit. The protein belongs to the L5P family of ribosomal proteins. It is located in the cytoplasm. The protein probably associates with the 5S rRNA. Alternative splice variants encoding different isoforms may exist, but they have not been fully characterized. As is typical for genes encoding ribosomal proteins, there are multiple processed pseudogenes of this gene dispersed through the genome. [provided by RefSeq].