Solubilization of human serotonin 1A receptors expressed in neuronal cells

The serotonin 1A receptor is an important member of the G-protein coupled receptor family, and is involved in a variety of cognitive, behavioral, and developmental functions. None of the subtypes of G-protein coupled serotonin receptors have yet been purified to homogeneity from natural sources. We report here, for the first time, the solubilization of human serotonin(1A) receptors stably expressed in neuronal (HN2) cells. Importantly, ligand binding assay shows that the serotonin 1A receptor solubilized this way is functionally active. The effective solubilization of the serotonin 1A receptor from neuronal cells represents an important step toward the purification of the receptor in native-like membrane environment.