PRIMARY STRUCTURE OF THE HUMAN PLATELET SEROTONIN 5-HT2A RECEPTOR - IDENTITY WITH FRONTAL-CORTEX SEROTONIN 5-HT2A RECEPTOR

Previous radioligand binding studies have demonstrated human platelet serotonin(2A) (5-HT2A) receptor binding sites. Pharmacological similar ities between platelet and frontal cortex 5-HT2A receptor binding para meters have been demonstrated. However, it is not clear whether the pl atelet 5-HT2A receptor primary structure is identical to that of the b rain receptor. Three overlapping cDNAs were obtained to span completel y the coding region of the 5-H-2A receptor. These clones were sequence d with external and internal primers. The nucleotide sequence of human platelet 5-HT2A cDNA was identical to that reported for the human fro ntal cortex 5-HT2A receptor, except for nucleotide 102 (T --> C), whic h has been reported to represent a normal DNA polymorphism that does n ot alter the amino acid sequence. This finding may have implications i n the study of neuropsychiatric disorders for which altered platelet 5 -HT2A receptor binding has been demonstrated.