This gene encodes a member of the KDEL endoplasmic reticulum protein retention receptor family. Retention of resident soluble proteins in the lumen of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is achieved in both yeast and animal cells by their continual retrieval from the cis-Golgi, or a pre-Golgi compartment. Sorting of these proteins is dependent on a C-terminal tetrapeptide signal, usually lys-asp-glu-leu (KDEL) in animal cells, and his-asp-glu-leu (HDEL) in S. cerevisiae. This process is mediated by a receptor that recognizes, and binds the tetrapeptide-containing protein, and returns it to the ER. In yeast, the sorting receptor encoded by a single gene, ERD2, is a seven-transmembrane protein. Unlike yeast, several human homologs of the ERD2 gene, constituting the KDEL receptor gene family, have been described. KDELR3 was the third member of the family to be identified. Alternate splicing results in multiple transcript variants. [provided by RefSeq, Jul 2013].