Functional expression of 5-HT1c receptor cDNA in COS 7 cells and its influence on protein kinase C

Antisense ablation of type I metabotropic glutamate receptor mGluR1 inhibits spinal nociceptive transmission

Electrophysiological and behavioral studies point to a role of group I metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluR1 and mGluR5) in mediating spinal nociceptive responses in rats. However, antagonists with a high degree of specificity for each of these sites are not yet available. We, therefore, examined the effects of antisense deletion of spinal mGluR1 expression in assays of behavioral analgesia and of electrophysiological responses of dorsal horn neurons. Rats treated with an mGluR1 antisense oligonucleotide reagent, delivered continuously to the intrathecal space of the lumbar spinal cord, developed marked analgesia as measured by an increase in the latency to tail-flick (55 degreesC) over a period of 4-7 d. This correlated with a selective reduction in mGluR1, but not mGluR5, immunoreactivity in the superficial dorsal horn compared with untreated control rats, in parallel with a significant reduction in the proportion of neurons activated by the mGluR group I agonist 3, 5-dihydroxyphenylglycine (DHPG), whereas the proportion of cells excited by the mGluR5 agonist, trans-azetidine-2,4-dicarboxylic acid (t-ADA) remained unaffected. In contrast, rats treated with mGluR1 sense or mismatch probes showed none of these changes compared with untreated, control rats. Furthermore, multireceptive dorsal horn neurons in mGluR1 antisense-treated rats were strongly excited by innocuous stimuli to their peripheral receptive fields, but showed severe reductions in their sustained excitatory responses to the selective C-fiber activator mustard oil and in responses to DHPG.

Functional characteristics of heterologously expressed 5-HT receptors

Over the past 10 years, molecular cloning has revealed the presence of 15 serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine; 5-HT) receptor subtypes, which can be subdivided in seven subfamilies. Except for the 5-HT3 receptors, which are ligand-gated ion channels, all 5-HT receptors belong to the superfamily of G-protein-coupled receptors. The large multiplicity of 5-HT receptor subtypes has been suggested to be a direct result of the evolutionary age of the 5-HT system. Molecular information on G-protein-coupled 5-HT receptors is currently available for several mammalian species as well as for a limited number of invertebrate species (insects, molluscs). The aim of this review is to give an overview of all cloned 5-HT receptor subtypes belonging to the superfamily of G-protein-coupled receptors with specific emphasis on the pharmacological and signaling properties of the receptors upon expression in several heterologous expression systems.

Possible involvement of botulinum ADP-ribosyltransferase sensitive low molecular G-protein on 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT)-induced inositol phosphates formation in 5-HT2c cDNA transfected cells

To clarify the involvement of botulinum ADP-ribosyltransferase sensitive low molecular G-proteins in 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT)-induced stimulation of phosphatidylinositol turnover, we examined the effects of 5-HT on inositol phosphates formation in COS 7 cells transfected with 5-HT2c receptor cDNA, but did not in non-transfected or vector-transfected cells. A typical 5-HT2c receptor antagonist mianserin (0.3-3 microM) inhibited the 5-HT-induced inositol phosphates formation. Treatment with botulinum toxin D preparation (20 micrograms/ml, 8 h) that contained botulinum C3 ADP-ribosyltransferase, blocked the 5-HT-induced inositol phosphate formation, although botulinum toxin A preparation that did not contain the enzyme did not have an influence. These results support our previous findings suggesting that low molecular weight G-proteins ADP-ribosylated by botulinum ADP-ribosyltransferase are involved in phospholipase C activity.

5-Hydroxytryptamine receptor subtypes in vertebrates and invertebrates

In the last few years, molecular biology has led to the cloning and characterization of several 5-HT receptors (serotonin receptors) in vertebrates and in invertebrates. These studies have allowed identification not only of 5-HT receptors already described but also of novel subtypes. The molecular cloning of 13 different mammalian receptor subtypes revealed an unexpected heterogeneity among 5-HT receptors. Except for the 5-HT3 receptors which are ligand-gated ion channel receptors, all the other 5-HT receptors belong to the large family of receptors interacting with G proteins. Based on their amino acid sequence homology and coupling to second messengers these receptors can be divided into distinct families: the 5-HT1 family contains receptors that are negatively coupled to adenylate cyclase: the 5-HT2 family includes receptors that stimulate phospholipase C; the adenylyl cyclase stimulatory receptors are a heterogeneous group including the 5-HT4 receptor which has not yet been cloned, the Drosophila 5-HTdro1 receptor and two mammalian receptors tentatively named 5-HT6 and 5-HT7 receptors. The 5-HT5A and 5-HT5B receptors might constitute a new family of 5-HT receptors whose effectors are unknown. This review focusses on the molecular characteristics of the cloned 5-HT receptors such as their structure, their effector systems and their distribution within the central nervous system. The existence of a large number of receptors with distinct signalling properties and expression patterns might enable a single substance like 5-HT to generate simultaneously a large panel of effects in many brain structures. The availability of the genes encoding these receptors has already allowed a partial characterization of their structure-function relationship and will probably allow in the future a dissection of the contribution of each of these receptor subtypes to physiology and behaviour.

Evidence for a role of protein kinase C in the sustained activation of rat dorsal horn neurons evoked by cutaneous mustard oil application

The intracellular mechanisms involved in the sensitisation of spinal dorsal horn neurons brought about by sustained or repeated nociceptive inputs are unknown. The present experiments addressed any role of protein kinase (PKC) in sustained nociceptive responses of rat dorsal horn neurons by: (i) ionophoretic administration of PKC inhibitors whilst recording activity evoked by repeated cutaneous application of mustard oil; and (ii) assessing subcellular translocation of PKC evoked in spinal cord by cutaneous application of mustard oil. Both marked attenuation of mustard oil-induced neuronal activity by PKC inhibitors and selective translocation of PKC in spinal cord tissue ipsilateral to mustard oil application strongly supported a critical role of PKC in sustained nociceptive responses to mustard oil.