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REVIEW : Olfactory Receptors: A Large Gene Family with Broad Affinities and Multiple Functions

Sections of Neurobiology and Neurosurgery Yale University School of Medicine New Haven, Connecticut

Michael S. Singer

Sections of Neurobiology and Neurosurgery Yale University School of Medicine New Haven, Connecticut

Charles A. Greer

Sections of Neurobiology and Neurosurgery Yale University School of Medicine New Haven, Connecticut

Five years have passed since the first cloning and sequencing of a large family of G protein-coupled receptors from the olfactory epithelium. These receptors are believed to be the initial sites of odor transduction. Although direct experimental evidence concerning the properties of these molecules is still limited, a variety of studies has provided fascinating insights into a range of possible functions, extending beyond olfactory transduction to include functions as diverse as sperm navigation and neural and cardiac development. To serve these functions, the olfactory receptors appear to express interesting adaptations of the basic seven transmembrane domain structures found in the neurotransmitter members of the G protein-coupled receptor superfamily. We review here this evidence and propose hypotheses for the molecular mechanisms underlying several distinct functions for this receptor family as guides for future experimental testing. NEUROSCIENTIST 2:262-271, 1996

Key Words: KEY WORDS Olfactory epithelium • Odor transduction • G protein-coupled receptor • Correlated mutation analysis • Molecular model, Olfactory bulb

The Neuroscientist, Vol. 2, No. 5, 262-271 (1996)
DOI: 10.1177/107385849600200512


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