May act as a transcriptional regulator. May play a role in neurogenesis and neuroendocrine cell differentiation during embryonic development (By similarity). Expressed both maternally and zygotically. Expressed at 10 hours post-fertilization (hpf), reach peak levels at 48 hpf and is not detectable in adult tissues. Expressed during neurogenesis between 9 and 72 hpf and in ventral endoderm region where pancreatic progenitors originate. Belongs to the INSM1 family.