Eif4h - eukaryotic translation initiation factor 4H

This gene encodes eukaryotic translation initiation factor 4H (eIF4H) that plays a critical role in the process of protein synthesis. The encoded protein is an RNA-binding protein that, in concert with other translation initiation factors, helps unwind the 5' cap-proximal region of mRNA to prepare it for ribosomal attachment. Mice lacking the encoded protein displayed growth retardation with a significant reduction of body weight, a smaller brain volume and altered brain morphology. Behaviorally, mice lacking the encoded protein exhibit severe impairments of fear-related associative learning and memory formation. Alternative splicing results in multiple transcript variants encoding different isoforms. [provided by RefSeq, Aug 2015]