Molecular cloning of human 5-hydroxytryptamine3 receptor: heterogeneity in distribution and function among species

The 5-hydroxytryptamine3 receptor 5-HT3R has been implicated in gut and cardiac motility and in behavioral disorders. Characteristics of 5-HT3Rs appear to be heterogeneous among species, but human 5-HT3R cDNA has not been identified. We isolated a cDNA encoding 5-HT3R from human hippocampus. The mouse 5-HT3R gene has been reported to generate two alternative splicing isoforms that differ by six amino acids. All of our isolated human clones corresponded to the shorter isoform. Amino acid identities with mouse neuroblastoma N1E-115 and rat brain 5-HT3Rs were 84% for each. Southern blot analysis of human genomic DNA suggested that our cloned transcript encoded a human counterpart for the rodent 5-HT3Rs. This gene was assigned to chromosome 11 using polymerase chain reaction analysis of a human/rodent somatic cell hybrid panel. With the use of Northern blot analysis, 5-HT3R transcripts were identified in human small intestine, colon, and brain regions including hippocampus, amygdala, and striatum. In human heart, 5-HT3R expression was not detectable even with reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction analysis, although it was detectable in mouse heart. Transfection of COS-1 with human 5-HT3R cDNA induced specific binding of the 5-HT3R-selective radioligand [3H]YM060. Human 5-HT3R showed typical characteristics of the 5-HT3R, but its affinity for the 5-HT3R agonist m-chlorophenylbiguanide was much lower than that of rat 5-HT3R. When injected with human 5-HT3R cRNA, the oocytes responded to 5-HT3R agonists with a rapidly developing inward current. The potency of the agonists to induce inward current paralleled that to compete with the radioligand binding, and 2-methyl-5-hydroxytryptamine, a partial agonist for mouse 5-HT3R, was a full agonist for human 5-HT3R. Our data revealed that the 5-HT3R molecule has interspecies differences in both tissue distribution and functional profile.