Olfactory receptors interact with odorant molecules in the nose, to initiate a neuronal response that triggers the perception of a smell. The olfactory receptor proteins are members of a large family of G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCR) arising from single coding-exon genes. Olfactory receptors share a 7-transmembrane domain structure with many neurotransmitter and hormone receptors and are responsible for the recognition and G protein-mediated transduction of odorant signals. The olfactory receptor gene family is the largest in the genome. The nomenclature assigned to the olfactory receptor genes and proteins for this organism is independent of other organisms. [provided by RefSeq, Jul 2008],function:Odorant receptor .,similarity:Belongs to the G-protein coupled receptor 1 family.,tissue specificity:Highly expressed in prostate. Very low levels may be detected in some other tissues, such as placenta, skeletal muscle, heart, ovary and testis. Up-regulated in prostate cancers.,
