Characterization of the naturally occurring Arg344His variant of the human 5-HT 3A receptor.

The present study aimed at examining the function and pharmacological properties of the naturally occurring Arg344His variant of the human 5-HT(3A) receptor, identified in a schizophrenic patient. In intact human embryonic kidney (HEK) 293 cells expressing the wild-type (WT) or the variant receptor, the function was analyzed by indirect measurement of agonist-induced Ca(2+) current through the 5-HT(3A) receptor channel by an aequorin luminescence-based Ca(2+) assay. In cell membrane patches cation currents were determined electrophysiologically including technically demanding single channel analyses. The pharmacological properties were analyzed by [(3)H]GR65630 binding to cell membrane fragments. The density of [(3)H]GR65630 binding sites in cells expressing the variant receptor was reduced to 55% of that in cells expressing the WT receptor, which, however, was not accompanied by an analogous decrease in 5-HT-induced Ca(2+) influx through the receptor channel. However, the single channel analysis suggests an increase in single receptor channel mean open time (which is known to be subject of many variables) but not in unitary current amplitude. Radioligand competition experiments revealed that the affinity of five 5-HT(3) receptor agonists and four antagonists for the variant receptor did not differ from that for the WT receptor. In conclusion, the variant receptor resembles the WT receptor in that it forms functional homopentameric 5-HT(3A) receptors with identical pharmacological properties. In view of the lack of reduction in Ca(2+) flux through the variant receptor channels in spite of the decrease in its density on the cell membrane, the increase in single receptor channel mean open time appears to compensate for the reduction in variant receptor density.

Aequorin luminescence-based assay for 5-hydroxytryptamine (serotonin) type 3 receptor characterization.

The classical electrophysiological method to measure the function of the 5-hydroxytryptamine (serotonin) type 3 (5-HT(3)) receptor, a cation-permeable ligand-gated ion channel, is time-consuming and not suitable for high-throughput screening. Therefore, we have optimized the conditions for a sensitive assay suitable to measure 5-HT(3) receptor responses in cell suspension based on aequorin bioluminescence caused by Ca(2+) influx. The assay, carried out in 96-well plates, was applied for the pharmacological characterization of 5-HT(3) receptors on human embryonic kidney (HEK) 293 cells transiently coexpressing apoaequorin and either the human homopentameric 5-HT(3A) receptor or the human heteromeric 5-HT(3A/B) receptor in the same subset of cells. Thus, the luminescence signal originates exclusively from transfected cells, leading to a high signal/noise ratio, a major advantage compared with fluorescence techniques using Ca(2+)-sensitive dyes. The potencies of two 5-HT(3A) receptor agonists and two antagonists as well as the potency and efficacy of serotonin at the heteromeric 5-HT(3A/B) receptor were comparable to those reported using other functional methods. In conclusion, the aequorin assay described here provides a convenient and highly sensitive method for functional characterization of 5-HT(3) receptors that is well suited for high-throughput screening.

Characterization of the novel human serotonin receptor subunits 5-HT3C,5-HT3D, and 5-HT3E.

Within the family of serotonin receptors, the 5-hydroxytryptamine-3 (5-HT(3)) receptor is the only ligand-gated ion channel. It is composed of five subunits, of which the 5-HT(3A) and 5-HT(3B) subunits are best characterized. Several studies, however, have reported on the functional diversity of native 5-HT(3) receptors, which cannot solely be explained on the basis of the 5-HT(3A) and 5-HT(3B) subunits. After our discovery of further putative 5-HT(3) serotonin receptor-encoding genes, HTR3C, HTR3D, and HTR3E, we investigated whether these novel candidates and the isoform 5-HT(3Ea) are able to form functional 5-HT(3) receptor complexes. Using immunofluorescence and immunoprecipitation studies of heterologously expressed proteins, we found that each of the respective candidates coassembles with 5-HT(3A). To investigate whether the novel subunits modulate 5-HT(3) receptor function, we performed radioligand-binding assays and calcium-influx studies in human embryonic kidney 293 cells. Our experiments revealed that the 5-HT(3C),5-HT(3D), 5-HT(3E), and 5-HT(3Ea) subunits alone cannot form functional receptors. Coexpression with 5-HT(3A), however, results in the formation of functional heteromeric complexes with different serotonin efficacies. Potencies of two agonists and antagonists were nearly identical with respect to homomeric 5-HT(3A) and heteromeric complexes. However, 5-HT showed increased efficacy with respect to 5-HT(3A/D) and 5-HT(3A/E) receptors, which is consistent with the increased surface expression compared with 5-HT(3A) receptors. In contrast, 5-HT(3A/C) and 5-HT(3A/Ea) receptors exhibited decreased 5-HT efficacy. These data show for the first time that the novel 5-HT(3) subunits are able to form heteromeric 5-HT(3) receptors, which exhibit quantitatively different functional properties compared with homomeric 5-HT(3A) receptors.

Pharmacological and electrophysiological properties of the naturally occurring Pro391Arg variant of the human 5-HT3A receptor.

The 5-HT3A receptor, a ligand-gated ion channel, is involved in pain pathways, nausea and emesis, and irritable bowel syndrome, and may play a role in the pathogenesis of psychiatric diseases such as schizophrenia and depression. Recently, a naturally occurring variation (ProArg) in the second intracellular loop of the human (h) 5-HT3A receptor was identified in a schizophrenic patient. Because the substitution of proline, an alpha-imino acid, by arginine may affect the conformation of the whole receptor, the aim of the present study was to determine the pharmacological and functional properties of this variant compared to the wild-type receptor in stably transfected HEK293 cells. Studies of binding of [H]GR65630, a 5-HT3 receptor antagonist, to membranes (saturation and competition experiments with 5-HT3 receptor ligands) and patch-clamp studies of agonist-induced currents in outside-out patches were carried out. In comparison to the wild-type, the variant receptor exhibited no changes in the receptor density and the affinities for nine representative ligands (five agonists and four antagonists). The potencies and efficacies of three 5-HT3 receptor agonists in inducing currents through the ion channel and the potencies of two 5-HT3 receptor antagonists in blocking 5-HT-evoked currents did not differ between wild-type and variant receptors. In addition, there were no differences in the desensitization kinetics of both receptor isoforms. In conclusion, the ArgPro variation of the h5-HT3A receptor does not change ligand binding to the h5-HT3A receptor, nor does it modify current through the receptor channel.