ASB8 may serve as a substrate-recognition component of a SCF-like ECS (Elongin-Cullin-SOCS-box protein) E3 ubiquitin-protein ligase complex. Such complexes mediate the ubiquitination of target proteins and their subsequent proteasomal degradation. In this arrangement the SOCS box links the protein to the Elongin-Cullin core, while the ankyrin repeats are positioned to engage substrates.

UniProt reports that ASB8 inhibits interferon-beta (IFN-beta) production through the IRF3 signalling pathway. It does so by targeting TBK1 for 'Lys-48'-linked ubiquitination, which leads to proteasomal degradation of TBK1. This places ASB8 as a negative regulator within innate antiviral signalling. NCBI Gene likewise describes the gene as predicted to be involved in intracellular signal transduction and protein ubiquitination, with a predicted cytosolic location; UniProt lists the protein in the cytoplasm.

The ASB8 gene encodes Ankyrin repeat and SOCS box protein 8, which belongs to the ankyrin SOCS box (ASB) family and to the HGNC gene group of ankyrin repeat domain containing genes. The approved name was previously written as ankyrin repeat and SOCS box-containing 8, and earlier symbols include MGC5540 and FLJ21255. A mouse ortholog, Asb8, is recognised. Researchers studying the ASB8 protein typically do so in the context of ubiquitin-dependent control of signalling.