The SSX2IP gene is located on chromosome 1p22.3 (Entrez Gene).

SSX2IP includes over 46 kb and consists of 14 exons however the first one is not translated (de Bruijn et al., 2002).

The gene contains 33 introns. 18 different mRNAs are produced; 17 spliced and 1 un-spliced form (Thierry-Mieg and Thierry-Mieg, 2006).

A pseudogene of this gene is found on chromosome 3 (provided by RefSeq, Oct 2009 from Entrez Gene).

SSX2IP was discovered due to its interaction with SSX2 in a yeast two-hybrid system and believed to regulate the function of SSX2 in the testes and malignant cells (de Bruijn et al., 2002).

There are 3-4 coil coiled regions in each version of SSX2IP. Only human SSX2IP has a nuclear localisation signal (NLS).

Expression observed in various normal tissues, the highest being in the brain (de Bruijn et al., 2002). It is expressed less but significantly in kidney, testes, spinal cord, liver, heart, lung, pancreas, skeletal muscle, ovary, placenta, foetal liver and foetal brain (Breslin et al., 2007).

SSX2IP co-localises with SSX2 to the nucleus and some fragments to the cytoplasm (de Bruijn et al., 2002). It has also been seen to localise on the surface of myeloid cell lines and primary AML (Denniss et al., 2007). ADIP co-localises with afadin at adherens junctions and in perinuclear regions (Asada et al., 2003).

It has been suggested that SSX2IP regulates the function of SSX2 (de Bruijn et al., 2002). Rodent ADIP binds with F-actin binding proteins afadin and α-actinin and could therefore be involved in forming actin structure at cell-cell adherens junction as well as construction of actin bundle at nectin-based cell adhesion sites (Asada et al., 2003). Through its interaction with the actin-binding protein β-spectrin, ADIP may have a role in actin-dependent organization of the Golgi complex. ADIP binds β-cop, which is a subunit of the coatomer complex, proposing a role in vesicle trafficking (Asada et al., 2004).