Mechanism for shifting the phase of a circadian rhythm by serotonin: involvement of cAMP.

Abstract

Serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine, [5-HT]) shifts the phase of the circadian rhythm in the eye of Aplysia. The role of cAMP in mediating the effects of 5-HT on the rhythm was examined. The phase shifts produced by 5-HT are mimicked by treatments that should increase intracellular levels of cAMP. An analogue of cAMP, 8-benzylthio-cAMP, advanced and delayed the rhythm at phases in which 5-HT had similar effects on the rhythm. Two phosphodiesterase inhibitors, Ro-20-1724 and papaverine, caused advance phase shifts where 5-HT advances the rhythm. The phosphodiesterase inhibitors Ro-20-1724 and 3-isobutyl-1-methylxanthine each potentiated the effect of subthreshold doses of 5-HT on the rhythm. The effects of 5-HT and 8-benzyl-thio-cAMP on the rhythm were nonadditive, indicating that 5-HT and 8-benzylthio-cAMP affect the rhythm through a common pathway. Finally, 5-HT produced large changes (13-fold) in the levels of cAMP in the eye. cAMP evidently mediates the effect of 5-HT on the rhythm. There are 2 possible roles for cAMP in the circadian system. Either the cAMP system is an intracellular step in an entrainment pathway or it is part of the biological clock. Because 5-HT, 8-benzylthio-cAMP, and 3 phosphodiesterase inhibitors inhibit impulses from the eye, cAMP may also mediate the inhibition produced by 5-HT, or it might be involved in regulating the frequency of spontaneous impulses throughout the day.