This gene encodes a member of the immunoglobulin superfamily, which resides in the juxta-telomeric region of the major histocompatability class 1 locus and is clustered with the other family members on chromosome 6. The encoded protein may be involved in the adaptive immune response. Alternatively spliced transcript variants encoding different isoforms have been found for this gene. [provided by RefSeq, Jun 2013].