The 5-HT receptor cell is a new member of secondary mesenchyme cell descendants and forms a major blastocoelar network in sea urchin larvae.

A gene encoding the serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine, 5-HT) receptor (5-HT-hpr) was identified from the sea urchin, Hemicentrotus pulcherrimus. Partial amino acid sequence deduced from the cDNA showed strong similarity to Aplysia californica 5-HT2 receptor. Immunoblotting analysis of this 5-HT-hpr protein (5-HT-hpr) with an antibody raised against a deduced peptide showed two bands. Their relative molecular masses were 69 and 53 kDa, respectively. The larger band alone disappeared after N-glycopeptidase F digestion, indicating the protein was N-glycosylated. Immunolocalization analysis showed that cells expressing the 5-HT-hpr (SRC) first appeared near the tip of the archenteron in 33-h post-fertilization (33 hpf) prism larvae. Their cell number doubled in 2 h, and 5-HT-hpr protein expression increased further without cell proliferation. SRC spread ventrally on the basal surface of the oral ectoderm in 36 hpf prism larvae, and then clockwise on the ventral ectoderm to the posterior region to complete formation of the SRC network in 48 hpf early plutei. The SRC network was comprised of 7 main tracts: 4 spicule system-associated tracts and 3 spicule system-independent tracts. The network extended short fibers to the larval body surface through the ectoderm, implicating a signal transmission system that receives exogenous signal. Double-stain immunohistochemistry with antibodies to primary mesenchyme cells showed that SRC were not stained by the antibody. In embryos deprived of secondary mesenchyme cell (SMC) by microsurgery, the number of SRC decreased considerably. These two data indicate that SRC are SMC descendants, adding a new member to the SMC lineage.