This gene encodes a protein that plays a critical role in cell cycle regulation. The encoded protein inhibits DNA replication by binding to DNA replication factor Cdt1, preventing the incorporation of minichromosome maintenance proteins into the prereplication complex. The encoded protein is expressed during the S and G2 phases of the cell cycle and is degraded by the anaphase-promoting complex during the metaphase-anaphase transition. Increased expression of this gene may play a role in several malignancies including colon, rectal and breast cancer. Alternatively spliced transcript variants have been observed for this gene, and two pseudogenes of this gene are located on the short arm of chromosome 16.