taste receptor, type 2, member 38 (T2R38, T2R61, PTC bitter taste receptor, TAS2R38)

Function

• perception of bitterness
• gustducin-linked
• senses chemical composition of GI content (putative)
• stimulates alpha gustducin (putative)
• PLC-beta-2
• gating of TRPM5

Structure

belongs to the G-protein coupled receptor T2R family

Compartment

membrane

Expression

• expressed in subsets of taste receptor cells of the tongue & palate epithelium, exclusively in gustducin-positive cells.

Pathology

• persons without functional TAS2R38 gene more likely to require hospitalization for Covid-19

Polymorphism

• polymorphisms in the TAS2R38 gene are associated with ability to taste phenylthiocarbamide tasting (PTC tasting)

More general terms

• taste receptor, type 2

Database

• OMIM: https://mirror.omim.org/entry/607751
• OMIM: https://mirror.omim.org/entry/171200
• Kegg: http://www.genome.jp/dbget-bin/www_bget?hsa:5726
• Entrez gene: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?db=gene&cmd=Retrieve&dopt=Graphics&list_uids=5726
• UniProt: http://www.uniprot.org/uniprot/P59533.html