GRIA4
GRIA4 (glutamate ionotropic receptor AMPA type subunit 4, also known as GluA4, GluR-4 or GluR-D) is a subunit of the AMPA-sensitive ionotropic glutamate receptor. It forms part of a ligand-gated cation channel that mediates fast excitatory synaptic transmission in the central nervous system. Browse Assay Genie's current range of GRIA4 research reagents below, or read on for the biology behind the target.
GRIA4 is an ionotropic glutamate receptor subunit that functions as a ligand-gated cation channel. It is gated by L-glutamate and by glutamatergic agonists such as alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid (AMPA), quisqualic acid and kainic acid. L-glutamate is an excitatory neurotransmitter at many synapses in the central nervous system, and the receptor plays an important role in fast excitatory synaptic transmission. When glutamate binds, the receptor undergoes a conformational change that opens the cation channel, converting the chemical signal into an electrical impulse as monovalent and divalent cations, such as sodium and calcium, enter the cell. The receptor then desensitises rapidly and enters a transient inactive state in which agonist remains bound. In the presence of CACNG8, GRIA4 shows resensitisation, seen as a delayed accumulation of current flux during continued application of L-glutamate.
Glutamate receptors are the predominant excitatory neurotransmitter receptors in the mammalian brain. They are heteromeric protein complexes built from several subunits that together form ligand-gated ion channels, and they are classified by their activation by different pharmacological agonists. The GRIA4 protein, also called glutamate receptor 4, belongs to the glutamate-gated ion channel family and the GRIA4 subfamily. It localises to the cell membrane, the postsynaptic cell membrane and dendrites. The GRIA4 gene is subject to RNA editing (AGA to GGA, resulting in an arginine to glycine change), and alternative splicing produces transcript variants encoding isoforms that may differ in their signal transduction properties.
HGNC places the gene in the group of glutamate ionotropic receptor AMPA type subunits, and its previous name was glutamate receptor, ionotrophic, AMPA 4. Other symbols include GLURD, GLUR4 and GLUR4C. Mouse and rat both carry a Gria4 ortholog. According to the NCBI Gene summary, some haplotypes of this gene show a positive association with schizophrenia.
GRIA4 contributes to fast excitatory synaptic transmission, making it relevant to studies of glutamatergic signalling in the central nervous system.
Glutamate binding opens the channel, followed by rapid desensitisation and, with CACNG8, resensitisation, offering a model for receptor kinetics.
AMPA receptors are heteromeric complexes of multiple subunits, so GRIA4 is studied alongside other subunits to understand assembly and function.
Some GRIA4 haplotypes show a positive association with schizophrenia, linking the gene to neuropsychiatric research.
GRIA4 is an AMPA-type ionotropic glutamate receptor subunit that forms a ligand-gated cation channel. When L-glutamate binds, the channel opens and sodium and calcium can enter, converting a chemical signal into an electrical impulse at excitatory synapses in the central nervous system.
GRIA4 is also known as GluA4, GluR-4, GluR-D, GLURD, GLUR4 and GLUR4C, and as glutamate receptor 4. Alternative splicing yields transcript variants encoding different isoforms, which may vary in their signal transduction properties. The gene is also subject to RNA editing.
Mouse and rat both have a Gria4 ortholog, so rodent models are used to study the receptor; check the datasheet of any product for its validated reactivity. The NCBI Gene summary notes that some GRIA4 haplotypes show a positive association with schizophrenia.
Other AMPA receptor subunits and glutamate receptor targets with products at Assay Genie.
Gene and protein annotations from HGNC, NCBI Gene and UniProt P48058; product specifications from Assay Genie datasheets.