Patent ID: 8603757

Claim:
A method of screening for a compound that putatively blocks or activates umami taste signaling, the method comprising the steps of: (a) contacting cells comprising isolated or cultured mammalian cells with one or more compounds, wherein said cells express a heteromeric T1R1/T1R3 taste receptor; and (b) detecting whether said one or more compounds specifically bind to said heteromeric T1R1/T1R3 taste receptor and/or specifically activate said heteromeric T1R1/T1R3 taste receptor and, based thereon, identifying said one or more compounds as compounds that putatively block or activate umami taste signaling, wherein (1) said heteromeric T1R1/T1R3 taste receptor expressed by said cells specifically binds to a ligand that specifically binds to an endogenous (wild-type) human heteromeric T1R1/T1R3 receptor comprised of at least one endogenous T1R1 polypeptide and at least one endogenous T1R3 polypeptide; and (2) said heteromeric T1R1/T1R3 taste receptor expressed by said cells comprises at least one T1R1 polypeptide that (i) is encoded by a nucleic acid sequence comprising SEQ ID NO: 8, or (ii) possesses at least 90% sequence identity to the T1R1 polypeptide of SEQ ID NO: 5; and (3) said heteromeric T1R1/T1R3 taste receptor expressed by said cells comprises at least one T1R3 polypeptide that (i) is encoded by a nucleic acid sequence comprising SEQ ID NO: 9; or (ii) possesses at least 90% sequence identity to the T1R3 polypeptide of SEQ ID NO: 7; and (4) at least one of said expressed T1R1 polypeptide or said expressed T1R3 polypeptide is expressed from a gene that is endogenous to said cells.