XPO4 belongs to a large family of karyopherins that mediate the transport of proteins and other cargo between the nuclear and cytoplasmic compartments . In the nucleus binds cooperatively to its cargo and to the GTPase Ran in its active GTP-bound form. Docking of this trimeric complex to the nuclear pore complex (NPC) is mediated through binding to nucleoporins. Upon transit of a nuclear export complex into the cytoplasm, disassembling of the complex and hydrolysis of Ran-GTP to Ran-GDP (induced by RANBP1 and RANGAP1, respectively) cause release of the cargo from the export receptor.