The protein encoded by this gene is a member of the protein tyrosine phosphatase (PTP) family. PTPs are known to be signaling molecules that regulate a variety of cellular processes including cell growth, differentiation, mitotic cycle, and oncogenic transformation. This PTP possesses an extracellular region, a single transmembrane region, and a single catalytic domain, and thus represents a receptor-type PTP. This PTP was found to be an autoantigen that is reactive with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) patient sera, and thus may be a potential target of autoimmunity in diabetes mellitus. Alternate splicing results in multiple transcript variants.