This locus is a processed pseudogene of the transcription factor NANOG. NANOG plays a central role in regulating self-renewal in pluripotent stem cells and tumor cells. This pseudogene contains an intact open reading frame that could potentially encode a protein similar to NANOG. Although there is no evidence of transcription from this pseudogene, RT-PCR studies suggest that NANOGP8 may be expressed in some cancer cell lines. In vitro studies using a recombinant NANOGP8 protein have shown that the protein localizes to the nucleus and can promote cell proliferation, similar to NANOG. [provided by RefSeq, Sep 2009]