5-hydroxytryptamine type 2A receptors regulate cyclic AMP accumulation in a neuronal cell line by protein kinase C-dependent and calcium/calmodulin-dependent mechanisms

The effects of 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT)_2A receptor activation on cAMP formation were studied in a cell line derived from embryonic rat cortex (A1A1). 5-HT (EC₅₀ = 0.87 μM) amplified the amount of cAMP formed in response to 5′-N-ethylcarboxamidoadenosine (an adenosine A₂ receptor agonist), cholera toxin, and forskolin after 15 min of coincubation in the presence of the phosphodiesterase inhibitor rolipram. This effect of 5-HT was blocked by 10 nM ketanserin as well as by 10 nM spiperone, indicating a response mediated by the 5-HT_2A receptor subtype. Similarly, cAMP accumulation was enhanced by coincubation with the protein kinase C (PKC) activator phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) and the calcium ionophore A23187. After exposure to PMA for 24 hr (PKC-depleted cells), 5-HT and A23187 still enhanced cAMP formed in response to forskolin and 5′-N-ethylcarboxamidoadenosine, whereas the amplifying effects of PMA were abolished. Analysis by Western blots and PKC activity measurements revealed that, of three PKC isoforms detected in A1A1 cells (α, δ, and ∈), only the calcium-independent isoform PKC-∈ remained in membrane fractions after long term PMA treatment. In PKC-depleted cells, 5-HT-mediated amplification was greatly reduced after treatment with the calcium chelator 1,2-bis(o-aminophenoxy)ethane-N,N,N′,N′-tetraacetic acid (acetoxymethyl)-ester or the calmodulin antagonists calmidazolium and N-(6-aminohexyl)-5-chloro-1-napthalenesulfonamide hydrochloride. In addition, 5-HT-mediated amplification of cAMP accumulation was reduced by the PKC inhibitor staurosporine in normal cells but was unaffected in PKC-depleted cells. In conclusion, these data suggest that 5-HT_2A receptor activation can amplify cAMP formation in A1A1 cells by two distinct pathways coupled to the hydrolysis of inositol phosphates, i.e., PKC and calcium/calmodulin.