Evaluate the collective function of references cited together in a given text segment.
Classify their combined role into one of the following categories: 'method', 'background', or 'result'.

Text:Consistent with the notion that Derlin-1 acts in the retrotranslocation [21,22,26,48–51], misfolded proteins accumulate in the ER in derlin-1 mutants, indicative of disrupted ERAD.
Category: