Homeodomain folds are found exclusively in eukaryotes but have high homology to lambda phage proteins that alter the expression of genes in prokaryotes.
The protein encoded by this gene contains a paired-like homeodomain and binds to the core of the locus control region of the red/green visual pigment gene cluster.
The human engrailed homologs 1 and 2 encode homeodomain-containing proteins and have been implicated in the control of pattern formation during development of the central nervous system.
Two transcript variants encoding two different isoforms have been found for this gene, with only one of the isoforms containing the homeodomain region.