Ribosomes, the organelles that catalyze protein synthesis, consist of a small 40S subunit and a large 60S subunit. Together these subunits are composed of 4 RNA species and approximately 80 structurally distinct proteins. This gene encodes a ribosomal protein that is a component of the 60S subunit. The protein belongs to the L14E family of ribosomal proteins. It contains a basic region-leucine zipper (bZIP)-like domain. The protein is located in the cytoplasm. This gene contains a trinucleotide (GCT) repeat tract whose length is highly polymorphic; these triplet repeats result in a stretch of alanine residues in the encoded protein. Transcript variants utilizing alternative polyA signals and alternative 5'-terminal exons exist but all encode the same protein. As is typical for genes encoding ribosomal proteins, there are multiple processed pseudogenes of this gene dispersed through the genome.[6]
