This article needs to be updated. The reason given is: Ligands are now partially identified along with a few other new discoveries.(March 2024) |
In biochemistry, an orphan receptor is a protein that has a similar structure to other identified receptors but whose endogenous ligand has not yet been identified. If a ligand for an orphan receptor is later discovered, the receptor is referred to as an "adopted orphan".[1] Conversely, the term orphan ligand refers to a biological ligand whose cognate receptor has not yet been identified.