The nuclear pore complex is a massive structure that extends across the nuclear envelope, forming a gateway that regulates the flow of macromolecules between the nucleus and the cytoplasm. Nucleoporins are the main components of the nuclear pore complex in eukaryotic cells. The protein encoded by this gene is a member of the FG-repeat containing nucleoporins that functions as a soluble cofactor in importin-alpha:beta-mediated nuclear protein import. Pseudogenes of this gene are found on chromosomes 5, 6, and 14. Two transcript variants encoding different isoforms have been found for this gene. [provided by RefSeq, Jul 2008].