Stimulation of Type 1 and Type 8 Ca2+/Calmodulin-sensitive Adenylyl Cyclases by the Gs-coupled 5-Hydroxytryptamine Subtype 5-HT7AReceptor

The neurotransmitter serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine, 5-HT) plays an important regulatory role in developing and adult nervous systems. With the exception of the 5-HT 3 receptor, all of the cloned serotonin receptors belong to the G protein-coupled receptor superfamily. Subtypes 5-HT 6 and 5-HT 7 couple to stimulation of adenylyl cyclases through G s and display high affinities for antipsychotic and antidepressant drugs. In the brain, mRNA for 5-HT 6 is found at high levels in the hippocampus, striatum, and nucleus accumbens. 5-HT 7 mRNA is most abundant in the hippocampus, neocortex, and hypothalamus. To better understand how serotonin might control cAMP levels in the brain, we coexpressed 5-HT 6 or 5-HT 7A receptors with specific isoforms of adenylyl cyclase in HEK 293 cells. The 5-HT 6 receptor functioned as a typical G s -coupled receptor in that it stimulated AC5, a G s -sensitive adenylyl cyclase, but not AC1 or AC8, calmodulin (CaM)-stimulated adenylyl cyclases that are not activated by G s -coupled receptors in vivo . Surprisingly, serotonin activation of 5-HT 7A stimulated AC1 and AC8 by increasing intracellular Ca 2+ . 5-HT also increased intracellular Ca 2+ in primary neuron cultures. These data define a novel mechanism for the regulation of intracellular cAMP by serotonin.