title: Pharmacology of mammalian olfactory receptors.
abstract: Mammalian species have evolved a large and diverse number of odorant receptors (ORs). These proteins comprise the largest family of G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) known, amounting to ~1,000-different receptors in the rodent. From the perspective of olfactory coding, the availability of such a vast number of chemosensory receptors poses several fascinating questions; in addition, such a large repertoire provides an attractive biological model to study ligand-receptor interactions. The limited functional expression of these receptors in heterologous systems, however, has greatly hampered attempts to deorphanize them. We have employed a successful approach that combines electrophysiological and imaging techniques to analyze the response profiles of single sensory neurons. Our approach has enabled us to characterize the "odor space" of a population of native aldehyde receptors and the molecular range of a genetically engineered receptor, OR-I7.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Richard S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: Zita
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Peterlin
authors.forename: Ricardo C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Araneda
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002118:Calcium / Q000378:metabolism; D004210:Dissection; D055724:Electrophysiological Phenomena; D004848:Epithelium / Q000378:metabolism; D016257:Fura-2 / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000378:metabolism; D008322:Mammals; D057054:Molecular Imaging; D009812:Odorants; D010600:Pharmacology / Q000379:methods*; D018035:Receptors, Odorant / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D011984:Sensory Receptor Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D018035:Receptors, Odorant; C049925:fura-2-am; D002118:Calcium; D016257:Fura-2