The central serotonergic signalling system has been shown to play an important role in appetite control and the regulation of food intake. Serotonin exerts its anorectic effects mainly through the 5-HT(1B), 5-HT(2C) and 5-HT(6) receptors and these are therefore receiving increasing attention as principal pharmacotherapeutic targets for the treatment of obesity. The 5-HT(2C) receptor has the distinctive ability to be modified by posttranscriptional RNA editing on 5 nucleotide positions (A, B, C, D, E), having an overall decreased receptor function. Recently, it has been shown that feeding behaviour and fat mass are altered when the 5-HT(2C) receptor RNA is fully edited, suggesting a potential role for 5-HT(2C) editing in obesity. The present studies investigate the expression of serotonin receptors involved in central regulation of food intake, appetite and energy expenditure, with particular focus on the level of 5-HT(2C) receptor editing. Using a leptin-deficient mouse model of obesity (ob/ob), we show increased hypothalamic 5-HT(1A) receptor expression as well as increased hippocampal 5-HT(1A), 5-HT(1B), and 5-HT(6) receptor mRNA expression in obese mice compared to lean control mice. An increase in full-length 5-HT(2C) expression, depending on time of day, as well as differences in 5-HT(2C) receptor editing were found, independent of changes in total 5-HT(2C) receptor mRNA expression. This suggests that a dynamic regulation exists of the appetite-suppressing effects of the 5-HT(2C) receptor in both the hypothalamus and the hippocampus in the ob/ob mice model of obesity. The differential 5-HT(1A), 5-HT(1B) and 5-HT(6) receptor expression and altered 5-HT(2C) receptor editing profile reported here is poised to have important consequences for the development of novel anti-obesity therapies.