Ubiquitin is a highly conserved protein that is covalently linked to other proteins to regulate their function and degradation. This gene encodes a member of the ubiquitin-specific protease family of cysteine proteases. The enzyme specifically cleaves ubiquitin from ubiquitin-conjugated protein substrates. The protein is found in the nucleus and cytoplasm. It functions as a co-factor of the DNA-bound androgen receptor complex, and is inhibited by a protein in the Ras-GTPase pathway. The human genome contains several pseudogenes similar to this gene. Several transcript variants, some protein-coding and others not protein-coding, have been found for this gene.