This gene encodes a member of the dystrophin-glycoprotein complex (DGC). The DGC spans the sarcolemma and is comprised of dystrophin, syntrophin, alpha- and beta-dystroglycans and sarcoglycans. The DGC provides a structural link between the subsarcolemmal cytoskeleton and the extracellular matrix of muscle cells. Two alternatively spliced transcript variants that encode different protein isoforms have been described. [provided by RefSeq, Oct 2008].