The protein encoded by this gene belongs to the ARL (ADP-ribosylation factor-like) family of proteins, which are structurally related to ADP-ribosylation factors (ARFs). ARFs, described as activators of cholera toxin (CT) ADP-ribosyltransferase activity, regulate intracellular vesicular membrane trafficking, and stimulate a phospholipase D (PLD) isoform. Although, ARL proteins were initially thought not to activate CT or PLD, later work showed that they are weak stimulators of PLD and CT in a phospholipid dependent manner. [provided by RefSeq, Jul 2008].
Van Valkenburgh, Shern, Sharer, Zhu, Kahn: "ADP-ribosylation factors (ARFs) and ARF-like 1 (ARL1) have both specific and shared effectors: characterizing ARL1-binding proteins." in: The Journal of biological chemistry, Vol. 276, Issue 25, pp. 22826-37, (2001) (PubMed).
Hong, Lee, Patton, Lin, Moss, Vaughan: "Phospholipid- and GTP-dependent activation of cholera toxin and phospholipase D by human ADP-ribosylation factor-like protein 1 (HARL1)." in: The Journal of biological chemistry, Vol. 273, Issue 25, pp. 15872-6, (1998) (PubMed).