Protein kinase A induces phosphorylation of the human 5-HT1A receptor and augments its desensitization by protein kinase C in CHO-K1 cells.

Protein kinase C has been previously shown both to phosphorylate and to desensitize the ability of the human 5-HT1A receptor to inhibit adenylyl cyclase [Raymond, J. R. (1991) J. Biol. Chem. 266, 14747-14753]. In this study, we examined the effects of short-term treatment with protein kinase A activators on coupling to the inhibition of adenylyl cyclase and on phosphorylation of the human serotonin 5-HT1A receptor in CHO cells that stably express 1200 fmol of receptor/mg of protein. Forskolin induced a concentration- and time-dependent phosphorylation of the receptor that was detectable at 5 min and maximal at 15-30 min with a half-maximal concentration of 10-20 microM. Phosphorylation was also induced by Sp-cAMPS or dibutyryl-cAMP, and blocked by Rp-cAMPS and a pseudosubstrate inhibitor of PKA, but not by heparin (inhibitor of receptor kinase) or sphingosine (inhibitor of PKC). The stoichiometry of phosphorylation induced by forskolin was 1 mol of phosphate per mole of receptor. PKA activators did not induce a measurable desensitization of 5-HT1A receptor-inhibited adenylyl cyclase activity. However, forskolin augmented the desensitization caused by a submaximal concentration of phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (300 nM PMA) as evidenced by a rightward shift of the concentration-response curve for 5-HT, and approximately doubled the amount of phosphate incorporated into the receptor by PMA. Forskolin did not augment desensitization or increase the degree of phosphorylation induced by a maximal concentration of PMA (5 microM).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)