The C-terminus of these receptors has important functions in modulating their activity. This region is important for G-protein coupling, post-translational modifications like phosphorylation as well as protein-protein interactions. The C-terminal region is also subject to alternative splicingnmGluR4 is predominantly expressed presynaptically in neurons and in the cerebellum. A splice variant of the protein is expressed in taste buds. This variant lacks a large portion of the N-terminus and is normally referred to taste mGluR4. It is responsible (along with taste mGluR1) for mediating the taste of monosodium glutamate (or unami).nmGluR4 knock out mice display impaired cerebellar synaptic plasticity as well as some learning disabilities5. In addition, this receptor has emerged as a target for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease.
