This gene was first identified as one of the many genes induced by interferon. The encoded protein may play a critical role in the regulation of apoptosis. A minisatellite that consists of 26 repeats of a 12 nucleotide repeating element resembling the mammalian splice donor consensus sequence begins near the end of the second exon. Alternatively spliced transcript variants that encode different isoforms by using the two downstream repeat units as splice donor sites have been described.