GMF-gamma was expressed as a 0.9-kb mRNA predominantly in lung, heart, and placenta. An additional low-abundance 1.2-kb transcript was detected in heart and skeletal muscle. Independently, Mao et al. (1998) identified a cDNA corresponding to GMF-gamma, which they referred to as a GMF-beta homolog, among a collection of cDNAs expressed in hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells.

GMF-gamma gene had been mapped to 19q13.2. This region is frequently deleted in human malignant gliomas and was thus suspected to harbor a glioma tumor suppressor gene. Given the putative role of GMF-gamma in cell differentiation and proliferation, and its map location, it became a candidate for said tumor suppressor gene.