The protein encoded by this gene is a ubiquitously expressed nuclear protein. It binds directly, with several other proteins, to retinoblastoma protein (pRB) which regulates cell proliferation. pRB represses transcription by recruiting the encoded protein. This protein, in turn, serves as a bridging molecule to recruit HDACs and, in addition, provides a second HDAC-independent repression function. The encoded protein possesses transcriptional repression activity. Multiple alternatively spliced transcripts have been observed for this gene, although not all transcript variants have been fully described. [provided by RefSeq, Jul 2008].