The protein encoded by this gene is a transcription factor that belongs to the interferon regulatory factor family. Proteins belonging to this family have a DNA binding domain at the amino terminus that contains five well-conserved tryptophan-rich repeats. This domain recognizes DNA sequences similar to the interferon-stimulated response element. The protein encoded by this gene promotes or suppresses lineage-specific genes to regulate the differentation of lymphoid and myeloid lineage cells. Alternative splicing results in multiple transcript variants. [provided by RefSeq, Sep 2014]