The guinea pig 5-hydroxytryptamine(5A) (gp5-ht(5A)) receptor was cloned from guinea pig brain using degenerate polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and shows 88%, 85% and 84% amino acid sequence identity versus the human, rat and mouse 5-ht(5A) receptors, respectively. The receptor was transiently expressed in human embryonic kidney (HEK) 293 cells. [(3)H]-Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) bound saturably to gp5-ht(5A)/HEK293 membranes with a K(d) of 2.3+/-0.1 nM and B(max) of 15.7+/-3.4 pmol/mg protein. The receptor binding profile, determined by competition with [(3)H]LSD, correlated well with that for the human 5-ht(5A) receptor. 5-HT stimulated [(35)S]GTPgammaS binding to gp5-ht(5A)/HEK293 membranes (pEC(50) 8.1+/-0.2), and the response was surmountably antagonised by methiothepin and ritanserin, giving apparent pK(B) values of 8.0 and 7.2, respectively. The 5-HT response was absent using membranes prepared from gp5-ht(5A)/HEK293 cells pretreated with pertussis toxin (PTX). These data suggest that the gp5-ht(5A) receptor couples to G(i)-proteins in this expression system and shows a similar pharmacological profile to that for the human 5-ht(5A) receptor.