Peer-reviewed articleOpen access

Identification of 5-HT2A receptor signaling pathways associated with psychedelic potential.

Wallach J, Cao AB, Calkins MM iD, Heim AJ iD, Lanham JK iD, Bonniwell EM iD, Hennessey JJ iD, Bock HA iD, Anderson EI, Sherwood AM, Morris H, de Klein R, Klein AK iD, Cuccurazzu B iD, Gamrat J, Fannana T, Zauhar R, Halberstadt AL, McCorvy JD iD

Nature communicationsDec 15, 2023License: open accessUnited States, Canada152 citationsDOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-44016-1

Abstract

Serotonergic psychedelics possess considerable therapeutic potential. Although 5-HT2A receptor activation mediates psychedelic effects, prototypical psychedelics activate both 5-HT2A-Gq/11 and β-arrestin2 transducers, making their respective roles unclear. To elucidate this, we develop a series of 5-HT2A-selective ligands with varying Gq efficacies, including β-arrestin-biased ligands. We show that 5-HT2A-Gq but not 5-HT2A-β-arrestin2 recruitment efficacy predicts psychedelic potential, assessed using head-twitch response (HTR) magnitude in male mice. We further show that disrupting Gq-PLC signaling attenuates the HTR and a threshold level of Gq activation is required to induce psychedelic-like effects, consistent with the fact that certain 5-HT2A partial agonists (e.g., lisuride) are non-psychedelic. Understanding the role of 5-HT2A Gq-efficacy in psychedelic-like psychopharmacology permits rational development of non-psychedelic 5-HT2A agonists. We also demonstrate that β-arrestin-biased 5-HT2A receptor agonists block psychedelic effects and induce receptor downregulation and tachyphylaxis. Overall, 5-HT2A receptor Gq-signaling can be fine-tuned to generate ligands distinct from classical psychedelics.

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Psychedelics

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