May be important in developing and maintaining corneal transparency and for the structure of the stromal matrix. Expressed in eye, where it is found in the corneal epithelial layer and to a lesser extent in the stromal layer (at protein level). At 2-3 days post-fertilization, detected in eye, forebrain, midbrain, hindbrain and anterior spinal cord. Glycosylated. Contains keratan sulfate chains. Morpolino knockdown of the protein results in increased apoptosis in eye, forebrain and midbrain, and reduced survival rate in embryos. Belongs to the small leucine-rich proteoglycan (SLRP) family. SLRP class II subfamily.