A new tool for investigating G protein-coupled receptors.

Vertebrate olfactory receptors are members of the seven-transmembrane-domain G protein-coupled receptor family. They utilize intracellular signal transduction pathways which are activated by stimulation of odorant receptors and use the second messengers cAMP and/or inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate and diacylglycerol. Studies of how odorants bind to and activate the receptors can be considered part of the more general problem of how chemicals interact with G protein-coupled receptors. This review describes the development of a new technique for assessing functional interactions between chemicals and these receptors in only minutes. Predicted uses of the system include structure-function analyses of both G protein-coupled receptors and their ligands, studies of receptor coupling to G proteins and cloning of cDNAs for these receptors.