With data from recently available selective antagonists for the 5-HT7 receptor, it has been hypothesized that 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT)-induced hypothermia is mediated by the 5-HT7 receptor, an effect previously attributed to other receptor subtypes. It has been established that the biologically active lipid oleamide allosterically interacts with the 5-HT7 receptor to regulate its transmission. The most well characterized effects of oleamide administration are induction of sleep and hypothermia. Here, we demonstrate, by using mice lacking the 5-HT7 receptor, that 5-HTinduced hypothermia is mediated by the 5-HT7 receptor. Both 5-HT and 5-carboxamidotryptamine, a 5-HT1 and 5-HT7 receptor agonist, in physiological doses fail to induce hypothermia in 5-HT7 knockout mice. In contrast, oleamide was equally effective in inducing hypothermia in mice lacking the 5-HT7 receptors as in wild-type mice. When administered together, 5-HT and oleamide showed additive or greater than additive effects in reducing body temperature. Taken together, the results show that 5-HT-induced hypothermia is mediated by the 5-HT7 receptor, and that oleamide may act through an independent mechanism as well as at an allosteric 5-HT7 receptor site to regulate body temperature.
The 5-HT 7 receptor is one of the most recently described members of the large family of serotonin [5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT)] receptors (1, 2). cDNA clones of the mRNAs encoding this receptor have been isolated from several different species, including mouse, rat, guinea pig, and human. In all species, the 5-HT 7 receptor shows a consistent mRNA distribution pattern within the brain (1, 3, 4) and ligand binding profile (5-8). The 5-HT 7 receptor is mainly localized to the hypothalamus, hippocampus, and frontal cortex.Functionally, the 5-HT 7 receptor has been shown to stimulate cAMP formation (1, 2, 6, 7). This stimulation has been linked to the activation of a calmodulin-regulated adenylyl cyclase (9). The existence of several splice variants of the 5-HT 7 receptor mRNA has been clearly demonstrated (10-12). The variants encode receptors that have slightly different lengths of the C termini, but with no detectable difference in tissue distributions or functional couplings (13). The 5-HT 7 receptor has also been detected in the periphery, where it is found primarily in smooth muscle cells of blood vessels (2, 14), but also in the gastrointestinal tract (2).Early studies established a pharmacological profile that distinguished 5-HT 7 receptors from other 5-HT receptors. The 5-HT 7 receptor shows a high affinity for 5-HT, 5-carboxamidotryptamine (5-CT), and methiothepin, relatively high affinity for 8-hydroxy-[N-n-dipropyl-N-(3Ј-iodo-2Јpropenyl)amino]tetralin (8-OH-DPAT) and ritanserin, and low affinity for pindolol and buspirone (1, 15). Recently, more selective antagonists have been described (16)(17)(18)(19), developments that will facilitate the characterization of the 5-HT 7 receptor.The 5-HT 7 receptor has been linked to a number of physiological and pathophysiologi...