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SENOMYX, INC.SM to Present a New Candidate Human Sweet Taste Receptor at the Association of Chemical Senses (AchemS) Meeting.
La Jolla, CA (April 23, 2001) – Scientists at Senomyx,SM Inc. (www.senomyx.com) have identified hT1R3, a candidate human taste receptor for sweet tastants. Dr. Elliot Adler from Senomyx will present this and other work at the annual meeting of AChemS on Thursday, April 26, 2001 in Sarasota, Florida. The new candidate receptor was identified by Dr. Adler and his colleague Dr. Sergey Zozulya using a bioinformatics analysis of unannotated human genome sequence databases to identify the gene sequence encoding the new receptor. Senomyx filed a patent application on hT1R3. Human T1R3 is the third member of a family of proteins predicted to function as G protein-coupled receptors and to mediate the sensation of sweet tastants. The identification of the first two members of the T1R family, T1R1 and T1R2, was originally accomplished by cDNA cloning methods and was reported in February 1999. Senomyx has acquired exclusive rights to the patent applications related to T1Rs from the University of California. The involvement of the T1R receptors in the recognition of sweet tastants was proposed based on the localization of the mouse T1R gene locus in the vicinity of sac, a gene locus in mice involved in the recognition of sweet tastants.
"The identification of human T1R3 was facilitated by the rapid progress in sequencing the human genome over the past few years," said Dr. Mark Zoller, Senomyx's Vice President of Research. "Senomyx is designing and assembling a technology platform that integrates each of the steps in the discovery of new and improved molecules that modulate taste and smell. A key element of our strategy is the use of taste and smell receptors in functional assays to identify novel receptor modulators. The work of Drs. Adler and Zozulya is important for Senomyx because it provides the third member of this family of proteins."
Senomyx seeks to be the leader in discovering new and improved proprietary flavor and fragrance molecules for use in a wide range of consumer products. Senomyx's integrated technology platform combines an enhanced understanding of the biology of taste and smell with many of the same technologies and advancements that pharmaceutical companies have recently begun using to more efficiently discover new medicines. Senomyx is incorporating receptor biology, combinatorial chemistry, high-throughput screening and bioinformatics into an integrated technology platform designed to enable the rapid, efficient discovery of new and improved proprietary molecules.
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