Rat brain serotonin receptors in Xenopus oocytes are coupled by intracellular calcium to endogenous channels.

Serotonin activates chloride currents in Xenopus oocytes injected with a subfraction of rat brain poly(A)+ mRNA. Patch-clamp recordings from cell-attached patches showed that serotonin, applied locally outside the patch, caused the opening of channels of approximately equal to 3 pS conductance and an average lifetime of approximately equal to 100 msec. The extrapolated reversal potential indicated that the channels are chloride-selective. Single-channel currents with similar characteristics were observed in inside-out patches from native oocytes in response to elevated calcium concentrations on the cytoplasmic side. Measurements of intracellular calcium concentration ([Ca2+]i) by fura-2 fluorescence showed approximately equal to 10-fold increases in [Ca2+]i in response to serotonin application in both normal and calcium-free Ringer solution in mRNA-injected oocytes. Little or no response to serotonin was observed in native oocytes. These results suggest that serotonin activation of receptors that are inserted into the oocyte membrane following injection of rat brain poly(A)+ mRNA can induce calcium release from intracellular stores. The increase in [Ca2+]i subsequently activates calcium-dependent chloride channels. Because calcium-dependent chloride channels and a receptor-controlled mechanism of internal calcium release have been shown to exist in native oocytes, we conclude that the newly inserted serotonin receptors utilized the endogenous second-messenger-mediated calcium release to activate endogenous calcium-dependent chloride channels.