Disease relevance of Gr66a

• Moreover, tetanus toxin-mediated inactivation of Gr66a- or Gr5a-expressing cells shows that these two sets of neurons mediate distinct taste modalities-the perception of bitter (caffeine) and sweet (trehalose) taste, respectively [1].

High impact information on Gr66a

• In a behavioral assay, the aversion to caffeine was specifically disrupted in flies missing Gr66a [2].
• Given that theobromine and caffeine inhibit PDEs with equal potencies , these data further support the role of Gr66a rather than a PDE in mediating the caffeine response [2].
• The Gr66a mutant exhibited normal tastant-induced action potentials upon presentation of theobromine, a methylxanthine in cocoa [2].
• Some, such as Gr66a, are known to be expressed in neurons that mediate gustatory repulsion . painless mutants are not taste blind; they show normal aversive gustatory behavior with salt and quinine and attractive responses to sugars and capsaicin [3].
• Mapping the axonal targets of cells expressing Gr66a and Gr5a reveals distinct projection patterns for these two groups of neurons in the brain [1].

Other interactions of Gr66a

• These genes fall into two distinct groups: seven of them, including Gr66a, are expressed in 22 or fewer taste neurons in each labial palp [1].

References