It has necessary roles in the formation and stability of microtubules from the centrosome[5] and has been found to be linked to human brain size variation in males.

[5] CDK5RAP2 also binds to p25, a form of CDK5R1 that serves as the activating subunit of CDK5, which is involved in the regulation of neuronal differentiation.

[12] An MRI study has demonstrated a link between common human variation in the CDK5RAP2 gene and brain structure.

These associations were found exclusively in male subjects, and all SNPs were located either in the last 7 introns or downstream of the gene.

However, given their location close to regulatory elements, it is possible that they are involved in gene regulation, which suggests that common variance in brain structure could be associated with differences in gene regulation rather than protein structure, consistent with findings in other complex human traits.