The product encoded by this gene is a member of a RNA-binding protein family and possesses nucleolytic activity against cytotoxic lymphocyte (CTL) target cells. It has been suggested that this protein may be involved in the induction of apoptosis as it preferentially recognizes poly(A) homopolymers and induces DNA fragmentation in CTL targets. The major granule-associated species is a 15-kDa protein that is thought to be derived from the carboxyl terminus of the 40-kDa product by proteolytic processing. Alternative splicing resulting in different isoforms has been found for this gene.