DOES ALTERNATIVE EXON USAGE CONTRIBUTE TO SEROTONIN RECEPTOR HETEROGENEITY

We have previously isolated serotonin 5-HT1C receptor cDNA clones. In contrast to most other receptors coupled to GTP binding proteins, the 5-HT1C receptor gene contains several introns in its coding region. A similar exon-intron distribution is found in the 5-HT2 receptor gene. The presence of large introns tempted us to test whether exchange of exons contributes to serotonin receptor heterogeneity. Therefore, blots with RNAs from different regions of the brain and brain slices were hybridized in situ with probes representing individual exons. We did not find any evidence for the exchange of exons which should result in an unequal distribution of hybridization signals found with the exon-specific probes. With the methodology used we should be able to see differential splicing in the form where individual exons are used alternatively resulting in mRNAs coding for different serotonin receptor types. We would not, however, see if a given exon can be modified by the alternative use of several splice-junctions.