着丝粒是分化的染色体结构域，它规定了染色体的有丝分裂行为。该基因编码着丝粒蛋白，该蛋白包含一个组蛋白h3相关的组蛋白折叠结构域，该结构域是靶向着丝粒所必需的。着丝粒蛋白a被认为是修饰核小体或核小体样结构的一个组成部分，其中它取代了核小体颗粒（h3-h4）2四聚体核心中1个或两个常规组蛋白h3的拷贝。该蛋白是一种与复制无关的组蛋白，是组蛋白h3家族的成员。选择性剪接导致编码不同亚型的多个转录变体。[由RefSeq提供，2015年11月]
Centromeres are the differentiated chromosomal domains that specify the mitotic behavior of chromosomes. This gene encodes a centromere protein which contains a histone H3 related histone fold domain that is required for targeting to the centromere. Centromere protein A is proposed to be a component of a modified nucleosome or nucleosome-like structure in which it replaces 1 or both copies of conventional histone H3 in the (H3-H4)2 tetrameric core of the nucleosome particle. The protein is a replication-independent histone that is a member of the histone H3 family. Alternative splicing results in multiple transcript variants encoding distinct isoforms. [provided by RefSeq, Nov 2015]