CSDA is a 372 amino acid nuclear and cytoplasmic protein that is highly expressed in skeletal muscle and heart. Containing one CSD (cold-shock) domain, CSDA is thought to bind to GM-CSF promoter, full length mRNA and to short RNA sequences containing a specific consensus site. CSDA is suggested to have a role in translation repression and is found in a mRNP complex with MSY2. MSY2 belongs to the Y-box family of multifunctional proteins that regulate both transcription and translation. CSDA participates in promoting cell proliferation and expression of cyclin D1 and proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA). CSDA is regarded to be an important component of the mechanisms that sense epithelial density and in regulating the switch between proliferation and differentiation through complex transcriptional networks.