Abstract: The present invention features vanilloid receptor polypeptides and vanilloid receptor-related polypeptides, specifically the capsaicin receptor subtypes VR1 and VR2 (VRRP-1), as well as the encoding polynucleotide sequences. In related aspects the invention features expression vectors and host cells comprising such polynucleotides. In other related aspects, the invention features transgenic animals having altered capsaicin receptor expression, due to, for example, the presence of an exogenous wild-type or modified capsaicin receptor-encoding polynucleotide sequence. The present invention also relates to antibodies that bind specifically to a capsaicin receptor polypeptide, and methods for producing these polypeptides. Further, the invention provides methods for using capsaicin receptor, including methods for screening candidate agents for activity as agonists or antagonists of capsaicin receptor activity, as well as assays to determine the amount of a capsaicin receptor-activating agent in a sample.

Abstract: A method is provided for expressing the proteases dipeptidyl aminopeptidases A and B which are useful for processing precursor proteins. Genes controlling these proteases may be insdrted into appropriate vectors and transformed into cultures. The proteases may either be utilized to process precursor proteins in vivo or may be extracted from cultures and used to process precursor proteins in vitro.