VERRUCULOGEN

Verruculogen is a tremorgenic mycotoxin, first isolated from Penicillium verruculosum in 1972. The structure was resolved as an indole alkaloid in 1974. Verruculogen is produced by several species of Penicillium and Aspergillus and its presence is a useful taxonomic phenotypic marker. The tremorgenic action of verruculogen is associated with increases in spontaneous glutamate and aspartate release, decreases in GABA levels and, at toxic doses, an increase in the number and decrease in the affinity of DHP receptors in rat cortex. In in vitro guinea pig ileum preparations, verruculogen causes an increase in contractile responses due to electrical field stimulation, attributed to enhancement of acetylcholine from presynaptic nerve terminals. Verruculogen also inhibits Ca2+-activated K+ channels, and is a cell cycle inhibitor blocking division at the M phase.

ChEBI: An organic heterohexacyclic compound that is a mycotoxic indole alkaloid isolated from Penicillium and Aspergillus species.

The protein encoded by this gene is a G protein-coupled receptor and is a component of the heterodimeric amino acid taste receptor T1R1+3. The T1R1+3 receptor responds to L-amino acids but not to D-enantiomers or other compounds. Most amino acids that are perceived as sweet activate T1R1+3, and this activation is strictly dependent on an intact T1R1+3 heterodimer. Multiple transcript variants encoding several different isoforms have been found for this gene. [provided by RefSeq]