Transcription of the msl-2 transcript is regulated by multiple binding sites for fly Sxl at the 5′ UTR. In particular, these poly-uracil sites are located close to a small intron that is spliced in males, but kept in females through splicing inhibition. This splicing inhibition is maintained by Sxl. When present, Sxl will repress the translation of msl2 by increasing translation of a start codon located in a uORF in the 5′ UTR (see above for more information on uORFs). Also, Sxl outcompetes TIA-1 to a poly(U) region and prevents snRNP (a step in alternative splicing) recruitment to the 5′ splice site.