该基因编码的蛋白是一种细胞因子，属于肿瘤坏死因子（TNF）配体家族。这种细胞因子是受体tnfrsf13b/taci、tnfrsf17/bcma和tnfrsf13c/baffr的配体。这种细胞因子在B细胞系细胞中表达，并作为一种有效的B细胞激活剂它在b细胞的增殖和分化中也起着重要的作用。另外，还发现了编码不同亚型的剪接转录变体。[由RefSeq提供，2011年3月]
The protein encoded by this gene is a cytokine that belongs to the tumor necrosis factor (TNF) ligand family. This cytokine is a ligand for receptors TNFRSF13B/TACI, TNFRSF17/BCMA, and TNFRSF13C/BAFFR. This cytokine is expressed in B cell lineage cells, and acts as a potent B cell activator. It has been also shown to play an important role in the proliferation and differentiation of B cells. Alternatively spliced transcript variants encoding distinct isoforms have been identified. [provided by RefSeq, Mar 2011]