This gene is a member of the solute carrier family 11 (proton-coupled divalent metal ion transporters) family and encodes a multi-pass membrane protein. The protein functions as a divalent transition metal (iron and manganese) transporter involved in iron metabolism and host resistance to certain pathogens. Mutations in this gene have been associated with susceptibility to infectious diseases such as tuberculosis and leprosy, and inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and Crohn disease. Alternatively spliced variants that encode different protein isoforms have been described but the full-length nature of only one has been determined. [provided by RefSeq, Jul 2008]