Human serotonin 5A (5-HT 5A ) receptors were stably expressed in undifferentiated C6 glioma. In 5-HT 5A receptors-expressing cells, accumulation of cAMP by forskolin was inhibited by 5-HT as reported previously. Pertussis toxin-sensitive inhibition of ADP-ribosyl cyclase was also observed, indicating a decrease of cyclic ADP ribose, a potential intracellular second messenger mediating ryanodine-sensitive Ca 2+ mobilization. On the other hand, 5-HT-induced outward currents were observed using the patch-clamp technique in whole-cell configuration. The 5-HT-induced outward current was observed in 84% of the patched 5-HT 5A receptor-expressing cells and was concentration-dependent. The 5-HT-induced current was inhibited when intracellular K + was replaced with Cs + but was not significantly inhibited by typical K + channel blockers. The 5-HT-induced current was significantly attenuated by 1,2-bis(2-aminophenoxy)ethane-N,N,N¢,N¢-tetraacetic acid (BAPTA) in the patch pipette. Depleting intracellular Ca 2+ stores by application of caffeine or thapsigargin also blocked the 5-HT-induced current. Blocking G protein, the inositol triphosphate (IP3) receptor, or pretreatment with pertussis toxin, all inhibited the 5-HT-induced current. IP3 showed a transient increase after application of 5-HT in 5-HT 5A receptor-expressing cells. It was concluded that in addition to the inhibition of cAMP accumulation and ADP-ribosyl cyclase activity, 5-HT 5A receptors regulate intracellular Ca 2+ mobilization which is probably a result of the IP3-sensitive Ca 2+ store. These multiple signal transduction systems may induce complex changes in the serotonergic system in brain function. Keywords: adenylyl cyclase, ADP ribosyl cyclase, cAMP, IP3, 5-HT 5A receptors, patch-clamp. The neurotransmitter serotonin (5-HT) is involved in the control of diverse physiological processes including sleep, sexual behavior, food intake, locomotion and mood. At least 13 different 5-HT receptors have been identified to date. The present work concerns one of these, the 5-HT 5 receptor, which belongs to the superfamily of G protein-coupled metabotropic receptors.The two members of the 5-HT 5 receptor subfamily, 5-HT 5A and 5-HT 5B , were identified in mice (Plassat et al. 1992;Matthes et al. 1993) and subsequently in rats (Erlander et al. 1993;Wisden et al. 1993). A cDNA encoding the 5-HT 5A receptor has been cloned from human tissues, while the 5-HT 5B receptor does not seem to be functionally expressed