Amiloride Sensitive Cation Channel Protein 4, Pituitary (ACCN4)

ACCN4 belongs to the superfamily of acid-sensing ion channels, which are proton-gated, amiloride-sensitive sodium channels. These channels have been implicated in synaptic transmission, pain perception as well as mechanoperception. This gene is predominantly expressed in the pituitary gland, and was considered a candidate for paroxysmal dystonic choreoathetosis (PDC), a movement disorder, however, no correlation was found between mutations in this gene and PDC. Alternative splicing at this locus results in two transcript variants encoding different isoforms.

Human ASIC4 protein shares 97% identity with its rat homolog. Dot-blot analysis and abundance of ASIC4 cDNAs in the pituitary cDNA library indicated strong expression in pituitary gland.