This gene encodes a nucleic-acid binding protein with seven zinc-finger domains. The protein has a preference for binding single stranded DNA and RNA. The protein functions in cap-independent translation of ornithine decarboxylase mRNA, and may also function in sterol-mediated transcriptional regulation. A CCTG expansion from <30 repeats to 75-11000 repeats in the first intron of this gene results in myotonic dystrophy type 2. Multiple transcript variants encoding different isoforms have been found for this gene. [provided by RefSeq, Jul 2016].