Translation initiation in eukaryotes necessitates the assembly of an 80S ribosomal complex. Eukaryotic initiation factors (eIFs) are utilized in a sequence of reactions that leads to 80S ribosomal assembly and initiation of translation. Mammalian eukaryotic translation initiation factor 4F (eIF4F) is a protein complex that contains eIF4A, eIF4E and eIF4G, binds mRNA at a 5’-cap motif and recruits the 43S ribosomal preinitiation complex to the transcript. Along with eIF4B, the eIF4F complex mediates the unwinding of mRNA secondary structure to facilitate ribosome association. eIF4E specifically interacts with the 5’ cap, eIF4A is a bidirectional RNA helicase, and eIF4GI and eIF4GII are scaffolding proteins which coordinate eIF4E, eIF4A, eIF3 and the 40S ribosome. eIF4GII (also known as eIF4G3 and eIF4-g3) is a 1,585 amino acid protein that is 46% homologous and functionally similar to eIF4GI.