Cloning and functional characterization of the rat stomach fundus serotonin receptor.

A DNA segment homologous to the third exons of the serotonin 1C and 2 receptor genes was isolated from a mouse genomic library. The positions of the introns flanking these exons were conserved in the three genes. To examine whether the new fragment was part of an active gene, we used a quantitative PCR protocol to analyse rat RNAs from different tissues and ages. The gene was expressed in stomach fundus at an abundance of 1 x 10(5) mRNA molecules. This tissue contracts in response to serotonin via a receptor that has previously resisted classification. We constructed a cDNA library from rat stomach fundus and isolated clones containing 2020 bp inserts with open reading frames of 465 amino acids comprising seven putative membrane-spanning regions. The protein was transiently expressed in COS cells and binding of serotonergic ligands to the membranes was analysed. The pharmacological profile resembled that described for the serotonin-stimulated contraction of the stomach fundus. After expression of this receptor in Xenopus oocytes, the application of serotonin triggered the typical chloride current which presumably results from the activation of phospholipase C. The coupling to this response system was less efficient than that of the 5-HT1C or 5-HT2 receptors.