Background:
This gene encodes a member of the disulfide isomerase (PDI) family of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) proteins that catalyze protein folding and thiol-disulfide interchange reactions. The encoded protein has an N-terminal ER-signal sequence, a catalytically active thioredoxin domain, and a C-terminal ER-retention sequence. This protein plays a role in cell migration, cellular transformation and metastasis and is as a p53 inhibitor. As an ER-localized molecular chaperone, it plays a role in the folding, trafficking, and assembly of cysteine-rich transmembrane receptors and the cysteine-rich intestinal gylcoprotein mucin. This gene has been implicated in inflammatory bowel disease and cancer progression.