Patent ID: 8222019

Claim:
A composition suitable for use in high-throughput assays for identifying compounds that elicit or modulate sweet taste, wherein said composition comprises a plurality of cells, said plurality of cells being isolated or cultured mammalian cells that express a heteromeric T1R2/T1R3 taste receptor, wherein said composition or the plurality of cells contained in said composition further comprise at least one detectable label or marker that provides for the identification of compounds that specifically bind or modulate the activity of said heteromeric T1R2/T1R3 taste receptor in said plurality of cells when used in a high-throughput assay that screens for compounds that elicit or modulate sweet taste, and wherein: (a) said heteromeric T1R2/T1R3 taste receptor expressed by said plurality of cells specifically binds to a ligand that specifically binds to an endogenous (wild-type) human heteromeric T1R2/T1R3 receptor comprised of at least one endogenous T1R2 polypeptide and at least one endogenous T1R3 polypeptide; (b) said heteromeric T1R2/T1R3 taste receptor expressed by said plurality of cells comprises at least one expressed T1R2 polypeptide that (i) is encoded by a nucleic acid sequence comprising SEQ ID NO: 10, or (ii) possesses at least 90% sequence identity to the T1R2 polypeptide of SEQ ID NO: 6; and (c) said heteromeric T1R2/T1R3 taste receptor expressed by said plurality of cells comprises at least one expressed 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.