该基因编码的蛋白是一种细胞凋亡调节因子，其结构与caspase-8相似。然而，编码蛋白缺乏半胱天冬酶活性，似乎自己被半胱天冬酶8分裂成两个肽。该基因有几种编码不同亚型的转录变体，并且存在更多变体的部分证据。
The protein encoded by this gene is a regulator of apoptosis and is structurally similar to caspase-8. However, the encoded protein lacks caspase activity and appears to be itself cleaved into two peptides by caspase-8. Several transcript variants encoding different isoforms have been found for this gene, and partial evidence for several more variants exists.