Trace amine-associated receptor

Trace amine-associated receptors, abbreviated TAAR and previously abbreviated TAR and TA, are a class of G protein-coupled receptors identified in 2001.

These receptors have gained considerable interest in academic and pharmaceutical industry research as putative endogenous receptors for trace amines, metabolic derivatives of classical biogenic amines.

In 2006 it was shown that TAAR1 is most probably a receptor for thyronamines, decarboxylated and deiodinated metabolites of the thyroid hormones, while the mouse mTAAR2 - mTAAR9 receptors are most probably olfactory receptors for volatile amines.

Mammalian TAAR complement

 * Rat genome&mdash;17 genes and 2 pseudogenes
 * Mouse genome&mdash;15 genes and 1 pseudogene
 * Human genome&mdash; 7 genes and 2 pseudogenes
 * Chimpanzee genome&mdash;3 genes and 6 pseudogenes