High density lipoprotein-binding protein, also known as vigilin, is a 110-kD protein that specifically binds HDL molecules and may function in the removal of excess cellular cholesterol. The expression of the gene is under tissue-specific and developmental control. Vigilin is found in the cytoplasm in close association with the endoplasmic reticulum.

These additional exons, 1A and 1B, are alternatively though concurrently spliced to exon 1C which is homologous to the first exon of the chicken gene. None of the additional exons code for an N-terminal extension of vigilin, due to in-frame stop codons. Structural features of exon 1A, however, would allow the translation of the 13-amino acid peptide from an upstream open reading frame preceding the vigilin open reading frame.