This gene encodes a member of the retinoic acid (RA, a form of vitamin A) binding protein family and lipocalin/cytosolic fatty-acid binding protein family. The protein is a cytosol-to-nuclear shuttling protein, which facilitates RA binding to its cognate receptor complex and transfer to the nucleus. It is involved in the retinoid signaling pathway, and is associated with increased circulating low-density lipoprotein cholesterol. Alternatively spliced transcript variants encoding the same protein have been found for this gene.[provided by RefSeq, Dec 2010].