该基因编码属于同源盒基因家族的转录因子。该家族的基因在脊椎动物中高度保守，对脊椎动物胚胎发育至关重要。该基因与胎儿皮肤发育和皮肤再生有关。在小鼠体内，一个类似的基因在胚胎的主轴上表现出时间和空间的共线性，但没有在第二轴上表达，这表明了在沿着主轴的身体模式中的功能。这个基因和其他hoxb基因在染色体17q21-22区域形成一个基因簇。
This gene encodes a transcription factor that belongs to the homeobox gene family. Genes of this family are highly conserved among vertebrates and essential for vertebrate embryonic development. This gene has been implicated to play a role in fetal skin development and cutaneous regeneration. In mice, a similar gene was shown to exhibit temporal and spatial colinearity in the main body axis of the embryo, but was not expressed in the secondary axes, which suggests functions in body patterning along the axis. This gene and other HOXB genes form a gene cluster at chromosome the 17q21-22 region.