A Noncanonical Postsynaptic Transport Route for a GPCR Belonging to the Serotonin Receptor Family

Postsynaptic receptor trafficking plays an essential role in tuning neurotransmission and signal plasticity and has emerged as a potential therapeutic target in neuropsychiatric disease. Using a novel application of fluorescence recovery after photobleaching in rat hippocampal neurons, we examined transport from the soma to dendrites of seven G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) implicated in mood disorders. Most GPCRs were delivered to dendrites via lateral diffusion, but one GPCR, the serotonin 1B receptor (5-HT1B), was delivered to the dendrites in secretory vesicles. Within the dendrites, 5-HT1B were stored in a reservoir of accessible vesicles that were recruited to preferential sites in plasma membrane, as observed with superecliptic pHluorin labeling. After membrane recruitment, 5-HT1B transport via lateral diffusion and temporal confinement to inhibitory and excitatory synapses was monitored by single particle tracking. These results suggest an alternative mechanism for control of neuronal activity via a GPCR that has been implicated in mood regulation.