This gene encodes a putative tumor suppressor and has higher expression in p53-expressing cells than in control cells and is an immediate-early induction target of p53-mediated apoptosis. The encoded protein may suppress cell growth by inducing apoptotic cell death through the caspase 9 and mitochondrial pathways. This gene is located on human chromosome 11q24, a region frequently altered in cancers. Alternative splicing results in multiple transcript variants. Pseudogenes of this gene have been defined on chromosomes 1, 3, 7, and 8.