The protein encoded by this gene is a highly hydrophobic integral membrane protein belonging to the MAL family of proteolipids. The protein has been localized to the endoplasmic reticulum of T-cells and is a candidate linker protein in T-cell signal transduction. In addition, this proteolipid is localized in compact myelin of cells in the nervous system and has been implicated in myelin biogenesis and/or function. The protein plays a role in the formation, stabilization and maintenance of glycosphingolipid-enriched membrane microdomains. Down-regulation of this gene has been associated with a variety of human epithelial malignancies. Alternative splicing produces four transcript variants which vary from each other by the presence or absence of alternatively spliced exons 2 and 3. [provided by RefSeq, May 2012].