This gene encodes a member of the NACHT, leucine rich repeat, and PYD containing (NLRP) protein family. It has an N-terminal pyrin domain, followed by a NACHT domain, a NACHT-associated domain (NAD), and a C-terminal leucine-rich repeat (LRR) region. NLRP proteins are implicated in the activation of proinflammatory caspases through multiprotein complexes called inflammasomes. This gene may act as a feedback regulator of caspase-1-dependent interleukin 1-beta secretion. Alternative splicing results in multiple transcript variants encoding different isoforms. [provided by RefSeq, Jul 2008].