This gene belongs to the paired homeobox family and is located in the pseudoautosomal region 1 (PAR1) of X and Y chromosomes. Defects in this gene are associated with idiopathic growth retardation and in the short stature phenotype of Turner syndrome patients. This gene is highly conserved across species from mammals to fish to flies. Alternatively spliced transcript variants encoding different isoforms have been noted for this gene.