Involved in Golgi-to-endoplasmic reticulum (ER) retrograde transport; the function is proposed to depend on its association in the NRZ complex which is believed to play a role in SNARE assembly at the ER . Required for normal embryonic development (By similarity). May play a role in the nonsense-mediated decay pathway of mRNAs containing premature stop codons (By similarity).
Subcellular locations: Cytoplasm, Endoplasmic reticulum, Endoplasmic reticulum membrane
Broadly expressed, with highest levels in heart and skeletal muscle, and lowest levels in liver, small intestine and thymus. Well expressed in retinal ganglion cells, epidermal skin cells, and leukocytes. Up-regulated together with N-myc in some neuroblastoma cell lines.