The 2C-subtype of serotonin receptor (5HT2C) has been implicated in numerous human psychiatric and behavioral disorders. The best-characterized function for this receptor however, involves an anorectic response mediated by 5HT2C receptor expression in pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC)-producing neurons in the arcuate nucleus of the hypothalamus to modulate feeding behavior and energy homeostasis. Transcripts encoding the 5HT2C receptor can be modified differentially by RNA processing events that include alternative splicing and adenosine- to-inosine (A-to-I) editing. 5HT2C transcripts can undergo up to five A-to-I editing events to generate as many as 24 protein isoforms that differ in G-protein coupling efficacy and constitutive activity, while alternative splicing can produce a truncated version of the receptor (5HT2C-tr) which decreases receptor signaling by heterodimerization and sequestration of the full-length receptor within the endoplasmic reticulum. Thus, the processing of 5HT2C RNAs may represent a critical regulatory mechanism by which neurons can modulate their responsiveness to changing extracellular signals by altering the identity of functionally distinct 5HT2C isoforms expressed in specific neuronal cell types. Unfortunately, heterogeneous expression in many brain regions and within different neuronal populations has hampered efforts to understand how 5HT2C RNA processing contributes to the modulation of specific circuits or behaviors. The long-term objectives of the proposed research are to define the cellular mechanisms that regulate 5HT2C expression and signaling, as well as possible relationships between 5HT2C processing and feeding-related pathologies. Recent studies have identified alterations in both 5HT2C receptor expression and 5HT2C-mediated behaviors in mouse models and patients diagnosed with Prader-Willi Syndrome (PWS). Furthermore, mutant mice engineered solely to express the fully edited 5HT2C receptor isoform exhibit phenotypic characteristics of PWS including a failure to thrive and post-weaning hyperphagia. Thus, RNA editing and splicing have dramatic consequences on feeding behavior suggesting that improper processing of 5HT2C transcripts may represent a contributing factor to disorders of feeding and metabolism. In the current application, mutant mouse lines in which expression of the 5HT2C-tr can be induced in POMC neurons will be characterized to assess the functional importance of 5HT2C-tr modulation for 5HT2C signaling in vivo. To assess whether manipulation of 5HT2C RNA processing represents a physiological mechanism by which neuron-dependent feeding signals are modulated, three distinct model systems will be used to examine the effects of diet, exercise and pharmacologic manipulation on 5HT2C RNA processing in POMC neurons. Finally, we will test the ability of specific, edited isoforms of the 5HT2C receptor to rescue the hyperphagia, maturity-onset obesity and type II diabetes associated with the 5HT2C-null phenotype when inducibly expressed solely in POMC neurons. It is anticipated that the proposed studies will provide critical insights into molecular etiology of human disorders associated with alterations in feeding and energy homeostasis.

Obesity is a major and growing health problem throughout the world and is due to an energy imbalance primarily resulting from excess food consumption. The proposed studies will further our understanding of the cellular processes that regulate energy homeostasis and feeding behavior by using cell-specific methods in mutant animal models to examine the dynamic relationship between feeding behavior and the processing of transcripts encoding the 2C-subtype of serotonin receptor (5HT2C), a validated target for anti-obesity drugs. Our novel findings not only will provide greater detail involving the regulation of 5HT2C expression and signaling in pro-opiomelanocortin-expressing neurons, but also aid in the development of better therapeutic strategies for treating feeding- related disorders and their comorbidities.