Olfactory receptors expressed in various non-olfactory tissues.

Abstract

Olfactory receptor(OR)genes constitute the largest gene family in mammals. Some of them have been shown to be expressed not only in the olfactory system, but also in various non-olfactory tissues. So far, the roles of such ectopically expressed ORs have been suggested mainly by in vitro experiments using cultured cells or tissues. Recently, analyses using OR knockout mice have revealed a few examples of important physiological functions outside the olfactory epithelium. An OR expressed in the carotid body senses the hypoxia and regulates breathing. An OR expressed in enterochromaffin(EC)cells in the gut senses microbial metabolites and induces a serotonin release to modulate serotonin-sensitive primary afferent neurons. These results suggest that ectopically expressed ORs sense an internal environmental change through chemical cues and modulate physiologically significant functions specific to each tissue where an OR is expressed. Further work will be required to understand their roles in other tissues.