Abstract

The transduction in photoreceptors and chemoreceptors has common mechanisms. In photoreceptors, activation of rhodopsin by light triggers the enzymatic cascade mediated by a G-protein, transducin. In olfactory cells activation of the receptor molecule by odorant triggers the enzymatic cascade mediated by a G-protein, Golf. In taste receptor cells biochemical studies have also suggested a metabotropic transduction hypothesis, but we recently identified a cationic channel that was directly gated by a bitter taste substance. By reviewing these recent studies carried out in our laboratory in the last 10 years, the transduction machinery in these sensory receptor cells are summarized. (Keio J Med 50 (1): 13-19, March 2001)

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