This gene encodes a nuclear zinc finger protein that functions as a transcriptional repressor. This protein plays a role in diverse developmental contexts, including hematopoiesis and oncogenesis. It functions as part of a complex along with other cofactors to control histone modifications that lead to silencing of the target gene promoters. Mutations in this gene cause autosomal dominant severe congenital neutropenia, and also dominant nonimmune chronic idiopathic neutropenia of adults, which are heterogeneous hematopoietic disorders that cause predispositions to leukemias and infections. Multiple alternatively spliced variants, encoding the same protein, have been identified for this gene.Expression of GFl1 ranges from the hematopoietic and lymphoid system, to sensory epithelia, lung and parts of the CNS.