This gene was identified as a gene whose expression can be induced by the tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF) in umbilical vein endothelial cells. The expression of this gene was shown to be induced by retinoic acid in a cell line expressing a oncogenic version of the retinoic acid receptor alpha fusion protein, which suggested that this gene may be a retinoic acid target gene in acute promyelocytic leukemia.
