Meeting Abstract

P2.129  Thursday, Jan. 5  Pharmacology of the serotonin-mediated increase of cAMP in Aplysia foot muscle MCPHERSON, D.R.; SUNY at Geneseo mcpherso@geneseo.edu

In the marine gastropod mollusc Aplysia californica, serotonin (5-HT) causes a large increase in the cAMP content of foot muscle tissue. This increase of cAMP is believed to underlie much of the strong modulatory effect of 5-HT on foot muscle contraction force and relaxation rate. It is therefore of interest to explore the pharmacology of the 5-HT receptor that mediates the cAMP increase, in order to describe its profile and in hopes of finding selective tools to manipulate it. In this poster I will present the results of experiments using a variety of 5-HT antagonists. The most effective antagonist was mianserin, followed by methiothepin and cyproheptadine. Most other drugs were ineffective. While none of the effective drugs are highly selective, the results do yield a partial profile of the 5-HT receptor and may distinguish it from other receptors in Aplysia.