The SMN complex plays a catalyst role in the assembly of small nuclear ribonucleoproteins (snRNPs), the building blocks of the spliceosome. Thereby, plays an important role in the splicing of cellular pre-mRNAs. Most spliceosomal snRNPs contain a common set of Sm proteins SNRPB, SNRPD1, SNRPD2, SNRPD3, SNRPE, SNRPF and SNRPG that assemble in a heptameric protein ring on the Sm site of the small nuclear RNA to form the core snRNP. In the cytosol, the Sm proteins SNRPD1, SNRPD2, SNRPE, SNRPF and SNRPG are trapped in an inactive 6S pICln-Sm complex by the chaperone CLNS1A that controls the assembly of the core snRNP. Dissociation by the SMN complex of CLNS1A from the trapped Sm proteins and their transfer to an SMN-Sm complex triggers the assembly of core snRNPs and their transport to the nucleus. STRAP plays a role in the cellular distribution of the SMN complex. Negatively regulates TGF-beta signaling but positively regulates the PDPK1 kinase activity by enhancing its autophosphorylation and by significantly reducing the association of PDPK1 with 14-3-3 protein.