Samiksha Jaiswal (Editor)

Trace amine associated receptor

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Trace amine-associated receptors (TAARs), sometimes referred to as trace amine receptors (TAs or TARs), are a class of G protein-coupled receptors that were discovered in 2001. TAAR1, the first of six functional human TAARs, has gained considerable interest in academic and proprietary pharmaceutical research due to its unique role as the endogenous receptor for trace amines – which are trace metabolic derivatives of phenylalanine and tryptophan – and related psychostimulants, particularly amphetamine and methamphetamine. In 2004, it was shown that mammalian TAAR1 is also a receptor for thyronamines, which are decarboxylated and deiodinated metabolites of thyroid hormones. TAAR2–TAAR9 function as olfactory receptors for volatile amines in vertebrates.

Contents

Animal TAAR complement

The following is a list of the TAARs contained in selected animal genomes:

  • Human — 6 genes (TAAR1, TAAR2, TAAR5, TAAR6, TAAR8, TAAR9), 2 pseudogenes (TAAR4P, TAAR7P), and one probable pseudogene (TAAR3)
  • Chimpanzee — 3 genes and 6 pseudogenes
  • Mouse — 15 genes and 1 pseudogene
  • Rat — 17 genes and 2 pseudogenes
  • Zebrafish — 112 genes and 4 pseudogenes
  • Frog — 3 genes and 0 pseudogenes
  • Medaka — 25 genes and 1 pseudogenes
  • Stickleback — 25 genes and 1 pseudogenes

    • Receptor function and ligands

    †TAAR1 is not expressed in the human olfactory epithelium, but certain volatile odorants have been identified as agonists of hTAAR1; hence, it's not an olfactory receptor in spite of its capacity for odorant detection.‡TAAR2 is inactive in a subset of the human population, as there is a polymorphism with a premature stop codon in 10–15% of Asians.‡TAAR9 is a functional receptor in most of the population, but has a polymorphism with a premature stop codon in 10–30%, depending on the population subgroup.

    References

    Trace amine-associated receptor Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA


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