Vesicle mediated protein sorting plays an important role in segregation of intracellular molecules into distinct organelles. Genetic studies in yeast have identified more than 40 vacuolar protein sorting (VPS) genes involved in vesicle transport to vacuoles. This gene encodes the human homolog of yeast class C Vps16 protein. The mammalian class C Vps proteins are predominantly associated with late endosomes/lysosomes, and like their yeast counterparts, may mediate vesicle trafficking steps in the endosome/lysosome pathway. Two transcript variants encoding different isoforms have been found for this gene. [provided by RefSeq, Jul 2009].
Function: May play a role in vesicle-mediated protein trafficking to lysosomal compartments and in membrane docking/fusion reactions of late endosomes/lysosomes.