Glutamate Receptor, Ionotropic, Kainate 4 (GRIK4)

GRIK4 encodes a protein that belongs to the glutamate-gated ionic channel family. Glutamate functions as the major excitatory neurotransmitter in the central nervous system through activation of ligand-gated ion channels and G protein-coupled membrane receptors. GRIK4 forms functional heteromeric kainate-preferring ionic channels with the subunits encoded by related gene family members.The GRIK4 gene displayed significantly higher rates of evolution in primates than in rodents and especially in the lineage leading from primates to humans. Furthermore the GRIK4 gene is implicated in the development of the nervous system. Hence evolution of the GRIK4 gene is thought to have played a role in the dramatic increases in size and complexity of the brain that occurred during evolutionary history leading to humans.