該基因編碼屬于同源盒基因家族的轉錄因子。該家族的基因在脊椎動物中高度保守，對脊椎動物胚胎發育至關重要。該基因與胎兒皮膚發育和皮膚再生有關。在小鼠體內，一個類似的基因在胚胎的主軸上表現出時間和空間的共線性，但沒有在第二軸上表達，這表明了在沿著主軸的身體模式中的功能。這個基因和其他hoxb基因在染色體17q21-22區域形成一個基因簇。
This gene encodes a transcription factor that belongs to the homeobox gene family. Genes of this family are highly conserved among vertebrates and essential for vertebrate embryonic development. This gene has been implicated to play a role in fetal skin development and cutaneous regeneration. In mice, a similar gene was shown to exhibit temporal and spatial colinearity in the main body axis of the embryo, but was not expressed in the secondary axes, which suggests functions in body patterning along the axis. This gene and other HOXB genes form a gene cluster at chromosome the 17q21-22 region.