The protein encoded by this gene is a subunit of a heterodimer that, along with SUPT16H, forms chromatin transcriptional elongation factor FACT. FACT interacts specifically with histones H2A/H2B to effect nucleosome disassembly and transcription elongation. FACT and cisplatin-damaged DNA may be crucial to the anticancer mechanism of cisplatin. This encoded protein contains a high mobility group box which most likely constitutes the structure recognition element for cisplatin-modified DNA. This protein also functions as a co-activator of the transcriptional activator p63. An alternatively spliced transcript variant of this gene has been described, but its full-length nature is not known. [provided by RefSeq, Jul 2008].