This gene is a member of the paraneoplastic antigen MA (PNMA) gene family, whose protein products share homology with retroviral Gag proteins. They are highly expressed in the brain and also in a range of tumors associated with serious neurological phenotypes. PMID:16407312 reports the presence of a functional -1 ribosomal frameshift signal (consisting of a heptanucleotide shift motif followed 3' by a pseudoknot structure) in this gene, however, the frame-shifted product has not been characterized. [provided by RefSeq, Jul 2008]