The protein encoded by this gene is a member of the deubiquitinating enzyme family. Members of this family are proteases that catalyze the removal of ubiquitin from polypeptides and are divided into five classes, depending on the mechanism of catalysis. This protein may hydrolyze the ubiquitinyl-N-epsilon amide bond of ubiquitinated proteins to regenerate ubiquitin for another catalytic cycle. Alternative splicing results in multiple transcript variants that encode different protein isoforms.