May disrupt the normal intermolecular interactions of the cytoplasmic domain of band 3 and thereby facilitate the invagination of the red cell membrane which is necessary for the formation of the parasitophorous vacuole. Probably located on the cytoplasmic face of the membrane where it associates with components of the membrane skeleton. The Tyr residues in the variant tetrameric sequences in the RESA repeat are possibly phosphorylated (by homology with band 3).