Aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases are a class of enzymes thatcharge tRNAs with their cognate amino acids. The protein encoded bythis gene is a cytoplasmic enzyme which belongs to the class IIfamily of aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases. The enzyme is responsible forthe synthesis of histidyl-transfer RNA, which is essential for theincorporation of histidine into proteins. The gene is located in ahead-to-head orientation with HARSL on chromosome five, where thehomologous genes share a bidirectional promoter. The gene productis a frequent target of autoantibodies in the human autoimmunedisease polymyositis/dermatomyositis. Several transcript variantsencoding different isoforms have been found for this gene.