Molecular cloning of the rat and human 5-hydroxytryptamine1B (5-HT1B) receptors has revealed that the primary amino acid sequence of these two receptors is > 90% identical. Despite this high degree of primary sequence homology, these two receptors have significantly different pharmacological properties. A mutant human 5-HT1B receptor was constructed in which Thr355 was replaced by Asn, the corresponding residue at this position in the rat 5-HT1B receptor. The pharmacology of the mutant human 5-HT1B receptor was very similar to that of the rat 5-HT1B receptor. Specifically, the mutant receptor had much higher affinity for pindolol, [125I]-iodocyanopindolol, propranolol, and CP-93,129 than the wild-type receptor. In contrast, the mutant had significantly lower affinity for sumatriptan, N,N-dipropyl-5-carboxamidotryptamine, 5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine, methysergide, metergoline, and rauwolscine. These data suggest that a single amino acid difference at position 355 is responsible for the pharmacological differences between the rat and human 5-HT1B receptors.