The protein encoded by this gene belongs to a family of ankyrin repeat proteins that, along with four other protein families, contain a C-terminal SOCS box motif. Growing evidence suggests that the SOCS box, similar to the F-box, acts as a bridge between specific substrate-binding domains and the more generic proteins that comprise a large family of E3 ubiquitin protein ligases. Alternatively spliced transcript variants have been identified for this gene. [provided by RefSeq, Jan 2011].