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Updated: Aug 20, 2026

Rapid In Situ Hybridization using Oligonucleotide Probes on Paraformaldehyde-prefixed Brain of Rats with Serotonin Syndrome
Published on: September 23, 2015
Quantitative RT-PCR assay of 5-HT1A and 5-HT2A serotonin receptor mRNAs using genomic DNA as an external standard
Alexander V Kulikov1, Vladimir S Naumenko, Irina P Voronova
1Institute of Cytology and Genetics, Russian Academy of Sciences, Avenue Lavrentyev, 10 630090 Novosibirsk, Russia. akulikov@ngs.ru
Abstract:
Brain serotonin 5-HT(1A) and 5-HT(2A) receptors have been implicated in both normal and pathological behavior, and in the action of anxiolytic and antidepressant drugs. In this study, detailed description and verification of a new RT-PCR technique to quantify the number of copies of 5-HT(1A) and 5-HT(2A) receptor mRNAs in the brain is presented. The number of copies of beta-actin and 5-HT(1A) or 5-HT(2A) receptor mRNAs in rat brain samples was evaluated with respect to the genomic DNA solution as the external exogenous standard. The expression of 5-HT receptors was calculated as the number of receptor mRNA copies per 100 copies of corresponding beta-actin mRNA. This presented technique is reliable, simple and can be easily set up in any neurobiological laboratory.

