This gene product belongs to the 14-3-3 family of proteins which mediate signal transduction by binding to phosphoserine-containing proteins. This highly conserved protein family is found in both plants and mammals, and this protein is 99% identical to the mouse and rat orthologs. This gene is upregulated in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. It contains in its 5' UTR a 6 bp tandem repeat sequence which is polymorphic, however, there is no correlation between the repeat number and the disease. This gene encodes a protein belonging to the 14-3-3 family of proteins, members of which mediate signal transduction by binding to phosphoserine-containing proteins. This highly conserved protein family is found in both plants and mammals. The encoded protein has been shown to interact with RAF1 and CDC25 phosphatases, suggesting that it may play a role in linking mitogenic signaling and the cell cycle machinery. Two transcript variants, which encode the same protein, have been identified for this gene.