This gene encodes a member of the serine/threonine protein kinase family. Members of this kinase family are known to be essential for eukaryotic cell cycle control. Due to a segmental duplication, this gene shares very high sequence identity with a neighboring gene. These two genes are frequently deleted or altered in neuroblastoma. The protein kinase encoded by this gene can be cleaved by caspases and may play a role in cell apoptosis. Alternative splicing results in multiple transcript variants. [provided by RefSeq, Apr 2014].