Background：

The protein encoded by this gene， a member of the Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome protein (WASP)-family， plays a critical role downstream of Rac， a Rho-family small GTPase， in regulating the actin cytoskeleton required for membrane ruffling. It has been shown to associate with an actin nucleation core Arp2/3 complex while enhancing actin polymerization in vitro. Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome is a disease of the immune system， likely due to defects in regulation of actin cytoskeleton. Multiple alternatively spliced transcript variants encoding the same protein have been found for this gene.