This invention provides isolated nucleic acid and amino acid sequences of gastrointestinal endocrine cell specific G-protein coupled receptors, method s of detecting such receptors, and methods of screening for ligands of such receptors. Furthermore, this invention demonstrates that STC-1 enteroendocri ne cells express multiple bitter taste receptors as well as a-subunits of G proteins that mediate taste signal transduction and respond to bitter taste compounds initiating changes in intracellular calcium concentration. Given that at present there are no cultured cell model system to determine the functional effects of taste receptor-mediated signaling, our findings identi fy STC-1 cells as a cell model for studying taste-mediated signal transduction.
GASTROINTESTINAL CHEMOSENSORY RECEPTORS