DNA methylation is the major modification of eukaryotic genomes and plays an essential role in mammalian development. This gene belongs to a family of nuclear proteins which are characterized by the presence of a methyl-CpG binding domain (MBD). The encoded protein is a subunit of the NuRD, a multisubunit complex containing nucleosome remodeling and histone deacetylase activities. Unlike the other family members, the encoded protein is not capable of binding to methylated DNA. The protein mediates the association of metastasis-associated protein 2 with the core histone deacetylase complex. Alternative splicing results in multiple transcript variants of this gene. [provided by RefSeq, Jul 2013]