Heat shock response of Neurospora crassa: protein synthesis and induced thermotolerance

At elevated temperatures, germinating conidiospores of Neurospora crassa discontinue synthesis of most proteins and initiate synthesis of three dominant heat shock proteins of 98,000, 83,000, and 67,000 Mr and one minor heat shock protein of 30,000 Mr. Postemergent spores produce, in addition to these, a fourth major heat shock protein of 38,000 Mr and a minor heat shock protein of 34,000 Mr. The three heat shock proteins of lower molecular weight are associated with mitochondria. This exclusive synthesis of heat shock proteins is transient, and after 60 min of exposure to high temperatures, restoration of the normal pattern of protein synthesis is initiated. Despite the transiency of the heat shock response, spores incubated continuously at 45 degrees C germinate very slowly and do not grow beyond the formation of a germ tube. The temperature optimum for heat shock protein synthesis is 45 degrees C, but spores incubated at other temperatures from 40 through 47 degrees C synthesize heat shock proteins at lower rates. Survival was high for germinating spores exposed to temperatures up to 47 degrees C, but viability declined markedly at higher temperatures. Germinating spores survived exposure to the lethal temperature of 50 degrees C when they had been preexposed to 45 degrees C; this thermal protection depends on the synthesis of heat shock proteins, since protection was abolished by cycloheximide. During the heat shock response mitochondria also discontinue normal protein synthesis; synthesis of the mitochondria-encoded subunits of cytochrome c oxidase was as depressed as that of the nucleus-encoded subunits.

Adaptive cellular response to hyperthermia: 31P-NMR studies

Dynamic intracellular ATP and Pi levels were measured non-invasively for Chinese hamster V79 cells by 31P-NMR under conditions of thermotolerance and heat-shock protein induction. High densities of cells were embedded in agarose strands, placed within a standard NMR sample tube, and perfused with medium maintained either at 37 or 43 degrees C at pH 7.35. Cell survival and heat-shock protein synthesis were assessed either from parallel monolayer cultures or cells dislodged from the agarose strands post-treatment. Thermotolerance (heat resistance) and heat-shock protein synthesis was induced by a 1 h exposure to 43 degrees C followed by incubation for 5 h at 37 degrees C. After the 5 h incubation at 37 degrees C, marked thermal resistance was observed in regard to survival with concomitant synthesis of two major heat-shock proteins at 70 and 103 kDa. Studies were also conducted where tolerance and heat-shock protein synthesis were partially inhibited by depletion of cellular glutathione (GSH) prior to and during heat treatment. Dynamic measurement of intracellular ATP of cells heated with or without GSH depletion revealed no change in steady-state levels immediately after heating or during the 5 h post-heating incubation at 37 degrees C where thermotolerance and heat-shock proteins develop. These data are consistent with other reported data for mammalian cells and indicate that the steady-state ATP levels in mammalian cells remain unchanged during and after the acquisition of the thermotolerant state.

Synthesis of heat shock proteins in rat liver after ischemia and hyperthermia

Ischemia of rat liver is followed by recovery or cell death. Since heat shock proteins may be essential to cell survival under stress, we determined levels of heat shock proteins in liver after different periods of blood deprivation and correlated the results with cellular recovery. Cell-free synthesis by poly (A+)-mRNA and polysomes revealed 70 and 89 kd proteins which appear similar to proteins produced by the liver of rats with amphetamine-induced hyperthermia. The 70 and 89 kd proteins increased in the liver of rats which recovered from ischemia.

Antagonistic effects of insulin and dexamethasone on glucose-regulated and heat shock protein synthesis

The present study extends our previous observation (Kasambalides and Lanks, J. Cell. Physiol., 114:93-98, 1983), that dexamethasone inhibits the alterations in heat shock protein (HSP) and glucose-regulated protein (GRP) synthesis caused by glucose deprivation. We now show that insulin, even in the presence of high extracellular glucose concentrations, will induce 95K and 82K GRP synthesis while suppressing 85K and 69K HSP synthesis. Heat shock of insulin-treated cultures causes induction of the 82K GRP rather than the 85K and 69K HSP's. All of the insulin effects are antagonized by dexamethasone. These data suggest that the changes in GRP and HSP synthesis induced by glucose deprivation and heat shock, respectively, may reflect the operation of a normal physiological mechanism that regulates glucose metabolism.

Comparison of labeled heat shock proteins in neuronal and non-neuronal cells of Aplysia californica

Aplysia californica has been used to study the protein synthetic response of nervous tissue to stress induced by elevated temperatures. The abdominal and pleural ganglia as well as associated connectives were exposed to various temperatures for 30 min, labeled with [33S]methionine at room temperature, and then analyzed by sodium dodecyl sulfate gel electrophoresis. All cells examined responded to temperatures of greater than 31 degrees C by a reduction in levels of labeled actin, as well as by the enhanced labeling of proteins with apparent Mr of 70,000 and 110,000. Two-dimensional electrophoresis indicated that the molecular weight and isoelectric focusing properties are similar to the heat shock proteins (HSPs) observed in other systems. In addition to these major HSPs, heat-induced proteins with molecular weights ranging from 70,000 to 90,000 were highly labeled in the neurosecretory bag cells. Further cell type-specific differences in the protein synthetic response to elevated temperatures were revealed by quantitation of the major HSPs. Levels of labeled HSPs were significantly lower in ganglion cells as compared to the non-neuronal connective cells. In addition, the decrease in actin levels appeared to be less dramatic in the ganglion cells. Analysis of the cellular compartmentalization of HSPs suggests that both neurons and glia are capable of HSP synthesis. Studies in the squid have demonstrated that HSPs are transferred from adaxonal glia into the axoplasm (Tytell, M., S. G. Greenberg, and R. J. Lasek, unpublished observation).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Induction of thermotolerance and heat shock protein synthesis in normal and respiration-deficient chick embryo fibroblasts

Normal and transformed chick embryo cells and their respective ethidium bromide-treated derivatives that are devoid of a functional respiratory chain were comparatively evaluated for their responses to hyperthermia treatment. No significant difference was found between the control and the respiration-deficient cells. The cells have a similar intrinsic thermosensitivity as judged by their capacity to form colonies after treatment at supraoptimal temperatures, and heat triggers in both cases an equal production of heat shock proteins and a strong induction of thermotolerance. In addition, sodium arsenite, carbonyl cyanide m-chlorophenylhydrazone, oligomycin, and antimycin A induce a similar heat shock protein response in the control and the treated cells. Based on these results, it is concluded that the inhibition by heat of the mitochondrial energy production does not constitute an obligatory rate-limiting event in hyperthermic cell killing and that the intracellular signal triggering development of thermotolerance or heat shock protein production does not obligatorily originate from damages to the respiratory chain. Moreover, the results indicate that the modifications responsible for the increased heat resistance of thermotolerant cells may not, or do not necessarily, involve a stabilization of the mitochondrial energy production.

Heat-shock response in Xenopus oocytes during meiotic maturation and activation

After a 60 min heat-shock at 36 degrees C, Xenopus oocytes are still able to accomplish a complete meiotic maturation in response to a progesterone treatment. The 36 degrees C heat-shock applied to maturing oocytes strongly enhances the synthesis of a single heat-shock protein of approx. 70 000 molecular weight (hsp70); after activation with the Ca2+-ionophore A 23187, matured oocytes still display the ability to synthesize hsp70 and to survive a heat-shock. A cycloheximide treatment combined with a heat-shock induces, during the recovery period, the synthesis of two heat-shock proteins, of approx. 70 000 and 83 000 molecular weight.

Potentiation of thermal injury in mouse cells by interferon

Mouse cells, when exposed to high temperature (43 degrees), shut off overall protein synthesis and continue to synthesize "heat shock proteins". Such heat shocked cells, upon reincubation at 37 degrees C, recover and proliferate. However, when mouse cells are pretreated with mouse interferon (IFN) and then exposed to 43 degrees, more than 99% of the cell population fail to recover. Synthesis of the major heat shock protein is unaffected in cells treated with IFN. Experiments designed to assess the role of intracellular glutathione (GSH) during cells' recovery from hyperthermia indicated that there is an irreversible depletion of glutathione when IFN treated cells are heat shocked. Neither depletion of GSH, nor potentiation of thermal injury was observed in a IFN-resistant line of mouse cells.

Effect of heat shock on protein synthesis in the cyanobacterium Synechococcus sp. strain PCC 6301

The response to heat shock at 47 degrees C was examined in the cyanobacterium (blue-green alga) Synechococcus sp. strain PCC 6301. On heat shock, the growth of the cells decreased and they preferentially synthesized a limited number of polypeptides. The rate of synthesis of these proteins increased markedly in the early period of temperature shift up and gradually decreased afterwards. Among the proteins greatly affected by temperature shift up were those with apparent molecular weights of 91,000 (91K), 79K, 78K, 74K, 65K, 64K, 61K, 49K, 45K, 24K, 22K, 18K, 16K, 14K, 12K, and 11.4K, based on their mobilities in sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gels. From these initial studies on Synechococcus sp. strain PCC 6301 we conclude that in cyanobacteria a heat shock response similar to that known to occur in other eucaryotes and procaryotes might exist.

Recovery of normal protein synthesis in heat-shocked chicken myotubes by liposome-mediated transfer of mRNAs

Exposure of chicken myotube culture to 45 degrees C induced the synthesis of three heat-shock polypeptides of 25 000, 65 000, and 81 000 daltons. Recovery to the normal pattern of protein synthesis was judged by the decrease in the synthesis of heat-shock polypeptides. This recovery to normal protein synthesis required de novo synthesis of mRNAs for normal cellular proteins. Inhibition of RNA synthesis by actinomycin D during recovery at 37 degrees C blocked the recovery process and resulted in the continued synthesis of heat-shock polypeptides. Large unilamellar vesicles were used to examine the effect of delivery of mRNAs isolated from both normal and heat-shocked myotubes on the recovery of these cells from heat-shock treatment. The results presented here show that liposome-mediated delivery of normal mRNAs to heat-shocked cells relieved the block of recovery by actinomycin. On the other hand, when mRNAs from heat-shocked cells were used during recovery, the synthesis of heat-shock polypeptides was stimulated. These observations suggest that the relative abundance of mRNAs in the cytoplasm plays a critical role in regulating protein synthesis in chicken myotube cultures.

Analysis of the expression of the two major proteins of the 70 kilodalton mammalian heat shock family

This study compares the expression after heat shock of the two major variants of the mammalian 70 kilodalton heat shock family in three separate systems. The ability of wild type and temperature sensitive mutant (ts85) FM3A cells to elicit a heat shock response following a 45 degrees C, 12 min exposure was examined. The ts85 cells were found to be both significantly more thermosensitive than parent FM3A cells and to induce a 66kDa heat shock protein (hsp66) not visibly synthesized in the parent line by this exposure. However, a constitutive (synthesized at 37 degrees C) 68kDa heat shock protein (hsp68) is comparably induced in both cell lines after heat. A relationship between the severity of the heat exposure as seen by the cell and hsp66 expression is suggested and tested in Chinese hamster ovary cells. In CHO cells a brief 45 degrees C heat shock induces the constitutive hsp68 (but not hsp66), while longer and more severe exposures are required for the expression of hsp66. The induction of these two proteins is also examined in situ in mouse skeletal muscle. In this case both hsp66 and hsp68 are induced following comparatively mild heat treatments, and the 'threshold' for hsp66 induction observed in cultured cells either does not occur or is greatly reduced. However, once again, hsp68 is naturally synthesized at 37 degrees C while hsp66 appears to be de novo synthesized after heat shock.

Early heat shock proteins in primary thymocytes. Evidence for transcriptional and translational regulation

Primary isolates of thymic lymphocytes maintained in vitro provide a physiologically well-characterized system in which to study induction of proteins by heat shock; this response is agent-specific and separable from inductions by glucocorticoids or heavy metals (Maytin, E. V., and Young, D. A. J. Biol. Chem. 258, 12718-12722). Here we identify 68 heat shock protein inductions among more than 2,500 individual proteins separated on giant two-dimensional gels and further describe their time course of appearance, sensitivity to cordycepin (3'-deoxyadenosine), and reversibility during recovery. Thirty-one changes are detectable within 1 h. Among these early increases, 20 are inhibitable by cordycepin. However, 11 early changes are not affected by cordycepin; all represent proteins found in relatively low abundance. Five of these inductions are rapidly reversible during recovery from heat shock, in contrast to most other heat shock proteins whose synthesis is maintained or enhanced. One protein identified here appears to be increased by recovery per se. Overall, these results provide evidence for two separate classes of heat shock inductions in normal mammalian cells, i.e. a transcriptionally regulated group, not readily reversible during recovery, and a translationally regulated group in which several inductions rapidly revert to normal during recovery.

Induction of self-tolerance and enhanced stress protein synthesis in L-132 cells by cadmium chloride and by hyperthermia

The effect of heat shock or cadmium treatment on protein synthesis and cell survival in L-132 cells has been examined. After cadmium treatment, the synthesis of a polypeptide of Mr 68000 (P68) was greatly enhanced over that of untreated cells. Besides P68 the synthesis of another polypeptide of Mr 89000 (P89) was also enhanced in heat-shocked cells. Both heat shock and cadmium treatment induced self-tolerance. The kinetics of the synthesis of induced polypeptides correlated well with the development of self-tolerance. The patterns of peptide maps obtained after partial proteolytic digestion from P68 induced in cadmium-treated and heat-shocked cells were virtually identical. However, neither heat-shocked cells did not confer cadmium tolerance nor did cadmium-treated cells induce thermotolerance.

Induction of stress proteins in chicken embryo cells by low-level zinc contamination in amino acid-free media

It has been reported that chicken embryo cells deprived of exogenous amino acids for 4 hours synthesize stress (heat-shock) proteins. Herein, we show that amino acid deprivation is not sufficient to cause induction of stress proteins. Zinc contaminating a component of commercial cell culture medium used to prepare amino acid-free medium was an inducer in our cultures. In the absence of exogenous amino acids, the concentration of zinc ions needed for half-maximal induction of stress proteins was an order of magnitude lower than the dose required for cells in complete medium. Histidine and cystine, which have high affinities for zinc ions, were the amino acids most effective in blocking the induction of stress proteins by zinc. Problems posed by heavy metal ions in culture media and biologic fluids for searches for in vivo inducers of the cellular stress (heat shock) response are discussed.

Acquisition of the heat-shock response and thermotolerance during early development of Xenopus laevis

The ability to synthesize a 68,000- to 70,000-Da protein (hsp) in heat-shocked early Xenopus laevis embryos is dependent on the stage of development. Whereas late blastula and later stage embryos synthesize hsp68-70 after heat shock, cleavage stages are incompetent with respect to hsp synthesis. In vitro translation experiments and RNA blot analyses demonstrate that enhanced synthesis of hsp68-70 is associated with an accumulation of hsp68-70 mRNA. Examination of the effect of heat shock on preexisting actin mRNA reveals that heat shock promotes a reduction in the levels of actin mRNA in cleavage embryos but has no discernible effect on actin mRNA levels in neurula embryos. Finally, the acquisition of the heat-shock response (i.e., synthesis of hsp68-70 and accumulation of hsp70 mRNA) during early Xenopus development is correlated with the acquisition of thermotolerance.

Cyclic AMP and the heat shock response in Chinese hamster ovary cells

Heat shock leads to transient increases in cAMP levels in HA-1-CHO cells. Such pulses are correlated temporally with the induction of heat resistance (thermotolerance) and with heat shock protein synthesis. Although the kinetics of cAMP increase after heating suggest a role in thermotolerance induction, raising cAMP levels directly using dBcAMP did not produce full thermotolerance. The resistance induced by dBcAMP may thus be either a component of or different to heat-shock triggered resistance. Cells which had been made thermotolerant by heat shock did not produce a pulse in cAMP level on heating. The cAMP producing system thus seemed desensitized to heat in thermotolerant cells.

Synthesis of heat shock proteins in quail red blood cells following brief, physiologically relevant increases in whole body temperature

Cultured RBCs from quail respond to thermal stress (heat shock) by a rapid and dramatic change in gene expression. This change in gene expression includes the new and/or enhanced non-coordinate synthesis of a small group of heat shock polypeptides (HSPs) having molecular masses of 90,000, 70,000 and 26,000. RBCs obtained from hyperthermic quail exhibit a change in gene expression similar to that observed in RBCs heat-shocked in vitro. Since in vitro studies have linked the synthesis of HSPs in heat-stressed cells with thermotolerance, the similar change in gene expression in RBCs from hyperthermic quail suggests that, here too, this cellular response may be an important homeostatic mechanism by which avian RBCs cope with and/or survive hyperthermic conditions.

Induction of heat-shock protein synthesis in chondrocytes at physiological temperatures

Induction of heat-shock protein (HSP) synthesis is demonstrated in cultured calf-chondrocytes at temperatures shown to occur in normal human cartilage during experiments subjecting intact cadaverous hip joints to the parameters of level walking. A 70,000 MW heat-shock protein (HSP-70) is synthesized by chondrocytes at temperatures above 39 degrees C, while induction of synthesis of a 110,000 MW HSP only occurs at temperatures of 45 degrees C or greater. These differences in critical temperatures for induction, and data showing differences in kinetics of induction and repression of synthesis, suggest that there are differences in the mechanism of induction of the two HSPs. The duration of HSP synthesis and inhibition of synthesis of normal cellular proteins is directly proportional to the duration and magnitude of the temperature rise. Possible relationships between these new findings and the initiation and progression of degenerative joint disease are discussed.

The heat shock response

The response of cells to a heat shock or other stresses is the activation of a small number of genes which were previously inactive or transcribed at low levels. This response has been observed in a wide variety of bacterial, plant, and animal species. Evidence is accumulating that at least some of the proteins found in diverse species are similar, indicating a conservation of the response and the proteins in evolution. In a number of organisms a strong positive correlation has been found between the presence of heat shock proteins and ability of the organism to withstand thermal stress. This review attempts to assess the available data concerning the homology of proteins in different species, the localization of the proteins in cells, and the relationship between heat shock proteins and thermoresistance.

Heat does not induce synthesis of heat shock proteins or thermotolerance in the earliest stage of mouse embryo development

To study a possible role of HSP in the thermal response of mouse embryos, we examined heat survival and HSP synthesis of mouse embryos at the one-cell stage or the blastocyst stage. One-cell embryos were extremely heat sensitive and synthesized HSP at very low levels or not at all. At that developmental stage neither thermotolerance nor HSP synthesis could be induced by heat shock. In contrast, unheated blastocysts synthesized HSP constitutively, were comparatively heat resistant, and both thermotolerance and enhanced rate of HSP synthesis were induced by a non-lethal heat exposure. Our data demonstrate a correlation between HSP synthesis, thermal sensitivity and thermotolerance in this system, and strengthen the suggestion that gene activation of HSP synthesis is closely related to the differentiation process.

Amino acid analogs while inducing heat shock proteins sensitize CHO cells to thermal damage

Amino acid analogs have been shown to induce heat shock proteins (HSPs). We have examined the effect of these analogs on the thermal sensitivity of Chinese hamster fibroblasts (HA-1) and their stable heat-resistant variants. We found that exposure of HA-1 cells and their heat-resistant variants to canavanine or L-azetidine-2-carboxylic acid cause enhanced synthesis of the three major mammalian HSPs (molecular weight 70,000, 87,000, and 110,000 kd). Although the synthesis of HSPs was increased, the analogs did not induce thermotolerance, a transient ability to protect cells from thermal damage. On the contrary, the analog treatment increased the thermal sensitivity of HA-1 cells, but not of the heat-resistant strains, when these cells were exposed subsequently to elevated temperatures. Our tentative explanation for these findings is that the incorporation of amino acid analogs into HSPs or other cellular proteins sensitizes HA-1 cells to heat. The heat-resistant strains contain higher levels of constitutive HSPs. The additional functional HSPs in the heat-resistant variants may protect these cells from thermal stress. The presence of some newly synthesized analog-substituted, perhaps nonfunctional, HSPs need not affect this thermal protection.

Studies on a possible relationship between alterations in the cytoskeleton and induction of heat shock protein synthesis in mammalian cells

Heat shock-induced alterations in protein synthesis and the cytoskeleton of two mammalian cell types have been investigated. A hyperthermic treatment of 30 min at 43 degrees C causes an accumulation of heat shock proteins (HSPs). The apparent molecular weights of HSPs of Reuber H35 hepatoma cells and of N2A neuroblastoma cells are 28 000, 65 000, 68 000, 70 000, 84 000, 100 000 D and 68 000, 70 000, 84 000 and 100 000 D respectively. Hyperthermia induces the disruption of microfilaments in hepatoma cells. Microtubules and intermediate filaments (vimentin and cytokeratin) remain intact. In neuroblastoma cells microfilaments remain intact whereas microtubules become disorganized after heat shock. As a result vimentin is found as a perinuclear aggregate. These cells were still able to synthesize heat shock proteins after pretreatment with cytoskeleton disrupting drugs such as dihydroxycytochalasin B and colchicine. Therefore it is concluded that the alterations in the cytoskeleton observed after the heat treatment are unlikely to be the cause of heat shock protein synthesis. Our results suggest that these heat shock-induced alterations in the cytoskeleton can be considered as a part of the heat shock response.

Elevated levels of 70,000 dalton heat shock protein in transiently thermotolerant Chinese hamster fibroblasts and in their stable heat resistant variants

The function of one or more shock proteins (HSPs) may be to confer protection of cells against thermal damage. The quantitative relationship between heat sensitivity and concentration of several HSPs was examined in thermotolerant Chinese hamster HA-1 cells and in their heat-resistant variants. Low molecular weight HSPs (22-27 kd) showed no correlation with cell survival. The best correlation was found between concentration of 70 kd HSP and the logarithm of cell survival. There was no difference between the HSP 70 induced by heat shock and that present in a constitutive form. The 70 kd HSP may actually confer heat resistance on cells, but in any case HSP 70 appeared to be the best predictor of heat response.

Leishmanial differentiation in vitro: induction of heat shock proteins

During temperature-induced in vitro differentiation from the promastigote to the amastigote form of the parasitic protozoan Leishmania mexicana, seven actively synthesized proteins were identified. These proteins corresponded precisely in molecular weight to the well-known heat shock proteins seen in species such as Drosophila. The minimal DNA synthesis observed in the differentiating parasites indicated that little cell division occurs during this process. The absence of RNA synthesis during early temperature-induced differentiation suggests that the leishmanial heat shock proteins are post-transcriptionally regulated. Heat shock proteins may play an adaptive role in the transition of Leishmania from arthropod to mammalian host.

Inducible expression of a cloned heat shock fusion gene in sea urchin embryos

A fusion gene construct, in which the coding sequence for bacterial chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT; acetyl-CoA: chloramphenicol 3-O-acetyltransferase, EC 2.3.1.28) was placed under the control of the regulatory region of the Drosophila gene encoding the 70-kilodalton heat shock protein [Di Nocera, P.P. & Dawid, I.B. (1983) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 80, 7095-7098], was microinjected into the cytoplasm of unfertilized sea urchin eggs. Pluteus-stage embryos developing from the injected eggs were exposed to high temperature conditions that we found would elicit an endogenous sea urchin heat shock response. These embryos express the gene for CAT and, after heat treatment, display 8-10 times more CAT enzyme activity than do extracts from control embryos cultured at normal temperatures. The injected DNA is present in high molecular weight concatenates and, during development, is amplified about 100-fold. Amplified sequences are responsible for all or most of the induced CAT enzyme activity.

Drosophila cells and ecdysterone: a model system for gene regulation

When Drosophila cell lines are exposed to physiological doses of the steroid molting hormone, ecdysterone, they enter mitotic arrest and differentiate morphologically. These responses are accompanied by specific changes in gene expression. Several enzyme activities (acetylcholinesterase, beta-galactosidase, dopa decarboxylase, and catalase) are induced and the synthesis of a cytoplasmic actin and the four small heat-shock proteins is initiated. Several of these ecdysterone inducible genes have been physically isolated and characterized, in several cases by DNA sequencing. Current studies focus on introducing cloned ecdysterone inducible genes into responsive cells by DNA mediated transfection. Once it is clear that these introduced genes acquire the normal pattern of hormone-regulated gene expression in the cell, in vitro mutagenesis can be used before transfection to modify their structure. Transient expression, then, can become a functional assay to define regions of DNA flanking the coding region of inducible genes that are needed for proper gene expression and regulation in cultured cells.

Heterogeneity in induced heat resistance and its relation to synthesis of stress proteins in rat tumor cell clones

Tumor cell clones isolated from a rat 13762NF mammary adenocarcinoma and its spontaneous metastases were heterogeneous in their survival responses to continuous 42 degrees heating. Clones MTLn3 and MTF7 had similar initial survival responses; they were significantly less sensitive than clone MTC. Following the first decrease in survival, different magnitudes of induced thermal resistance were observed. When ratios of the first and resistant slopes of survival curves were compared (the thermotolerance ratio), the order of induced thermal resistance was MTLn3 greater than MTF7 greater than MTC. These clones were compared for the rates of synthesis of heat stress proteins (HSP). The same four major HSP at Mr 112,000, 90,000, 70,000, and 22,000 were induced or enhanced in all 3 clones. The rates of synthesis of these HSP were analyzed through a unique system of computer-assisted video densitometry and digitization. When all 4 HSP were analyzed as a group, the rates were significantly different (p less than 0.017), and the rank order of rates of synthesis was significant with MTLn3 greater than MTF7 greater than MTC. Induction kinetics of the individual HSP were different. Individually, the HSP at Mr 112,000, 90,000, and 22,000 were synthesized at significantly different rates between clones (p less than 0.001) but the Mr 70,000 HSP was not. Absolute total protein synthesis was highest for clone MTLn3, and MTF7 was higher than MTC but only marginally. Although absolute accumulations of these HSP could not be directly compared between these clones, the higher rates of HSP synthesis in these tumor cell clones correlated with more thermal resistance. These data support the working hypothesis that one or more of these HSP have a direct role in the mechanism(s) for inducing thermal resistance in rat tumor cells, but other factors such as total protein synthesis could modify the complex bio-chemical and phenotypic pathways involved in induced HSP and thermal resistance.

Transient paralysis by heat shock of hormonal regulation of gene expression

We have investigated the effect of heat shock on primary cultures of male and female Xenopus laevis hepatocytes as a function of estrogen-induced vitellogenin gene expression. Coincident with the induction of heat-shock protein (hsp) synthesis, thermal stress abolishes the estrogen activated transcription and accumulation of vitellogenin mRNA, at the same time causing the destabilization of vitellogenin mRNA accumulated by prior treatment with the hormone. Exposure of the cells to estrogen before heat shock allows an immediate resumption of vitellogenin gene transcription on return to 26 degrees C. Heat shock applied to cells from hormonally naive male Xenopus extends the lag period preceding vitellogenin gene transcription upon return to normal temperatures. This transient and reversible paralysis of estrogen responsiveness is paralleled by reversible changes in the amount of nuclear estrogen receptor in the hepatocytes. Heat shock therefore offers a novel approach in the manipulation and analysis of the early stages of steroid hormonal regulation of gene expression.

Heat-shock proteins produced by two human melanoma cell lines: absence of correlation with thermosensitivity

Two human melanoma cell lines, extremely different in their thermal sensitivity, were pulse-labelled with (35S)-methionine after 60 min of exposure at 42 degrees C. For both cell lines, fractionation of the intrinsically labelled proteins by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE) showed increased labelling of a polypeptide band of Mr 72,000, along with a slight reduction of overall protein synthesis. By two-dimensional electrophoresis, the Mr 72,000 band resolved into multiple pattern components of the same size but differing in isoelectric points. The absence of qualitative and quantitative differences between the two melanoma cell lines indicates that the different thermal sensitivities are unrelated to their ability to express the heat-shock proteins.

Nicotine-stimulated proteins in mouse cells are distinct from heat-shock proteins

Treatment of mouse tissue-culture cells with nicotine concentrations of 1 mM or less had no significant effects on cell viability, morphology or protein synthesis, but higher concentrations resulted in both altered cell morphology (rounding and vacuolization) and alterations in [3H]leucine-labelled protein profiles on sodium dodecyl sulphate/polyacrylamide gels. The synthesis of a Mr-70 000 protein was increased more than 2-fold relative to that of other major cellular proteins in 3T3 and L929 cells treated with 5 mM-nicotine and in B16 cells treated with 10 mM-nicotine, and this protein appeared to be a soluble cytoplasmic polypeptide. The radiolabelling of several additional polypeptides (Mr 62 000 in 3T3 cells, and Mr 45 000 and 38 000 in B16 cells) was also stimulated by nicotine. The nicotine-enhanced Mr-70 000 protein was distinct, however, from a major cell stress/heat-shock protein whose synthesis was stimulated after incubation of cells at 43.5 degrees C for 20 min.

Heat shock-induced translational control of HSP70 and globin synthesis in chicken reticulocytes

Incubation of chicken reticulocytes at elevated temperatures (43 to 45 degrees C) resulted in a rapid change in the pattern of protein synthesis, characterized by the decreased synthesis of normal proteins, e.g., alpha and beta globin, and the preferential and increased synthesis of only one heat shock protein, HSP70. The repression of globin synthesis was not due to modifications of globin mRNA because the level of globin mRNA and its ability to be translated in vitro were unaffected. The HSP70 gene in reticulocytes was transcribed in non-heat-shocked cells, yet HSP70 was not efficiently translated until the cells had been heat shocked. In non-heat-shocked reticulocytes, HSP70 mRNA was a moderately abundant mRNA present at 1 to 2% of the level of globin mRNA. The rapid 20-fold increase in the synthesis of HSP70 after heat shock was not accompanied by a corresponding increase in the rate of transcription of the HSP70 gene or accumulation of HSP70 mRNA. These results suggest that the elevated synthesis of HSP70 is due to the preferential utilization of HSP70 mRNA in the heat-shocked reticulocyte. The heat shock-induced alterations in the reticulocyte protein-synthetic apparatus were not reversible. Upon return to control temperatures (37 degrees C), heat-shocked reticulocytes continued to synthesize HSP70 at elevated levels whereas globin synthesis continued to be repressed. Despite the presence of HSP70 mRNA in non-heat-shocked reticulocytes, we found that continued transcription was necessary for the preferential translation of HSP70 in heat-shocked cells. Preincubation of reticulocytes with the transcription inhibitor actinomycin D or 5,6-dichloro-1-beta-D-ribofuranosylbenzimidazole blocked the heat shock-induced synthesis of HSP70. Because the level of HSP70 mRNA was only slightly diminished in cells treated with actinomycin D, we suggest two possible mechanisms for the preferential translation of HSP70 mRNA: the translation of only newly transcribed HSP70 mRNA or the requirement of a newly transcribed RNA-containing factor.

A gene regulating the heat shock response in Escherichia coli also affects proteolysis

The htpR locus in Escherichia coli encodes a regulator of the heat shock response. Cells containing the htpR165 mutation are defective in the induction of synthesis of heat-shock proteins at high temperature. We show that these cells are also defective in degrading two proteins that are normally unstable in htpR+ cells. The proteolytic defect is manifest at both 30 degrees C and 42 degrees C. We used a marker rescue technique to map this defect to the htpR locus. Although both proteolytic substrates are partially stabilized in lon- strains, we argue that the defect in proteolysis exhibited by the htpR165 strain does not mimic the lon- state. The htpR165 strain synthesizes Lon at the normal rate at 30 degrees C and does not show the phenotypes of mucoidy and radiation sensitivity associated with lon- strains.

Heat shock regulatory gene (htpR) of Escherichia coli is required for growth at high temperature but is dispensable at low temperature

Nonsense mutations affecting the positive regulatory gene (htpR) of heat shock response have been obtained in a strain of Escherichia coli carrying no suppressor. The mutants can grow only at temperatures below 34 degrees C-35 degrees C. Heat, ethanol, and coumermycin induce major heat shock proteins in the wild-type but not in the htpR mutants. In contrast, the level of heat shock proteins synthesized at low temperature is unaffected. The htpR gene product is thus required for induction of heat shock proteins by heat or other stresses but not for their "basal-level" synthesis. Nucleotide sequence has been determined for the wild-type and the mutant alleles of htpR. The coding region appears to consist of 852 nucleotide pairs that correspond to 284 amino acids. Sequences commonly considered as signals for transcriptional initiation and termination were found flanking the coding region. Within this region, six amber, one opal, and two missense mutations were identified; the nonsense mutations are scattered along the gene, some being very close to the presumed amino terminus. These results indicate that the absence of htpR gene product is directly responsible for the failure to respond to heat shock or other stresses and for the inability to grow at high temperature. We propose that htpR represents a new class of genes that are essential for growth only at high temperatures (greater than 35 degrees C). Implications of the sequence homologies found among htpR, rpoD, and nusA proteins are discussed.

Inducibility of heat shock polypeptides in cells containing hyperacetylated histones

We have examined the effect of sodium butyrate on the levels of histone acetylation, the pattern of protein synthesis and the inducibility of heat shock polypeptides (hsps) in cultured trout fibroblasts. Maximal levels of histone acetylation are achieved upon treatment of these cells with 5 mM butyrate for 24 h. No significant changes in the pattern of protein synthesis, as detected by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis, are apparent under these conditions, although changes in the levels of three polypeptides are seen at shorter times of exposure to butyrate. Heat shock polypeptides are inducible at normal levels in butyrate-treated cells. This is in contrast to the ability of butyrate to inhibit the activation of steroid-inducible genes in some systems.

Xenopus hsp 70 genes are constitutively expressed in injected oocytes

Xenopus heat-shock genes are transiently heat-inducible in somatic cells, but they are also subject to a long-term developmental control in oogenesis and early embryogenesis. In order to understand whether different genes or different promoter elements are involved in the two types of control, several genomic clones coding for Xenopus heat-shock proteins, hsp 70 and hsp 30, were isolated, characterised and tested for expression in oocytes and COS cells. Three isolated hsp 70 genes are nearly identical in their promoter and mRNA leader sequences, indicating that there is only one type of hsp 70 gene. These promoters contain a consensus sequence element (CT-GAA--TTC-AG) upstream of the TATA-box, which is presumably required for their transient heat-inducibility. The two isolated hsp 30 genes show 5'-flanking sequences similar to each other, except that one of them shows a homology disruption precisely around the consensus sequence element. The same gene contains a frameshift mutation in the protein coding part and, since it cannot be expressed after introduction into oocytes or COS cells, it is probably a pseudogene. The other hsp 30 gene is strongly heat-inducible in injected oocytes or transfected COS cells. In contrast, the hsp 70 genes are strongly heat-inducible in COS cells, but their expression is highly efficient in injected oocytes at the normal temperature and is not increased during heat shock. This represents correct cell type-specific regulation of a cloned reintroduced gene, since the endogenous hsp 70 genes are constitutively activated during oogenesis, leading to the accumulation of stored hsp 70 mRNA in oocytes.

Heat shock proteins and protection of proliferation and translation in mammalian cells

The characteristics of heat shock protein(s) (HSP) and thermotolerance induction were examined in Chinese hamster ovary cells following two diverse nonlethal heat shocks: a continuous 41 degree exposure and a 45 degree, 5-min exposure. While induction of both HSP and thermotolerance were observed to initially develop simultaneously, a significant period was observed during which HSP induction was not accompanied by any further increase in the cells' ability to survive a thermal stress. Conversely, the achievement of the full tolerant state, as measured by colony survival, correlates in these instances with the moment at which development of the induction of HSP either ceased or began to be repressed. When a 99% lethal 45 degree, 22-min heat shock was examined, HSP and a thermal resistance were again observed to develop synchronously, despite the fact that the tolerance was measured in only 1% of the cell population. In this instance, a new protein of molecular weight 66,000 was observed which was not visibly induced by either of the two nonlethal treatments. Finally, the ability of heat-shocked thermotolerant cells to translate proteins following a second heat challenge (protection of translation) was investigated as an alternative measure of thermotolerance. While a protection of translation which encompassed several normal cellular proteins was observed, the phenomenon paralleled the induction and repression phases of HSP synthesis and was therefore not related to thermotolerance.

Primary culture, cellular stress and differentiated function

Isolation of specialized cell types for the analysis of tissue-specific gene function often results in loss of the differentiated phenotype. Examples of this type of phenotypic change following tissue disaggregation are reviewed together with possible explanations. Close similarities between the effects of cell isolation with those of other cellular stresses such as heat or anoxia point to common biochemical mechanisms being involved. This suggests that the study of freshly isolated cells will contribute significantly to out understanding of the nature of cellular stress and its consequences for the maintenance of phenotype and induction of tissue specific gene expression.

Heat shock-induced translational alterations in HeLa cells. Initiation factor modifications and the inhibition of translation

Heat shock at 45 degrees C virtually abolishes protein synthesis in HeLa cells, but return to 37 degrees C effects a complete recovery and the concomitant synthesis of heat shock-induced proteins. Heat shock induces polysome disaggregation, indicating initiation is principally inhibited. In vitro assays for initiation factor activities reveal heat shock inhibits eukaryotic initiation factor 2 (eIF-2), eIF-(3 + 4F), and eIF-4B. Immunoblot analyses show that eIF-2 alpha and eIF-2 beta become modified during heat shock, and eIF-4B variants disappear. Upon return to 37 degrees C, these alterations reverse. The modifications of eIF-2 alpha and eIF-4B are due to phosphorylation and dephosphorylation, respectively. Enzymatic activities induced by heat shock inhibit protein synthesis and modify initiation factors in a rabbit reticulocyte lysate. Initiation factor modifications may contribute to, or cause, protein synthesis inhibition.

Culture shock

The isolation of Xenopus liver, lung and testis cells by collagenase digestion of the tissue, followed by Percoll density gradient centrifugation, was characterized by the preferential synthesis of two proteins whose size and charge were similar to 70 and 85 kD heat-shock proteins. The synthesis of these two heat-shock-like proteins, relative to that of total protein, declined gradually in the first 3-4 days after the cells were plated out for primary culture. In fresh primary cultures of liver parenchymal cells albumin mRNA concentration declined rapidly and plateaued at 3-4 days of culture. Freshly isolated male Xenopus hepatocytes were refractory to induction by estrogen of vitellogenin gene transcription but they reacquired hormonal response during the first 3 days of culture. Both of these differentiated phenotypic functions of the Xenopus hepatocytes were quantitatively associated with the decline in synthesis of hsp-like proteins in freshly prepared primary cell cultures. Freshly isolated or heat-shocked hepatocytes exhibited a rounded shape with little intercellular contacts, whereas during the recovery period of 3 days they acquired a flattened shape with a high degree of intercellular and cell-substratum interaction. These results present the first evidence for the preferential synthesis of heat-shock-like proteins by procedures for establishing primary cell cultures. They emphasize the necessity of monitoring normal and heat-shock protein synthesis and cell morphology before using primary cell cultures for studying normal regulatory and developmental processes.

Starved Tetrahymena thermophila cells that are unable to mount an effective heat shock response selectively degrade their rRNA

Tetrahymena thermophila cells that had been shifted from log growth to a non-nutrient medium (60 mM Tris) were unable, during the first few hours of starvation, to mount a successful heat shock response and were killed by what should normally have been a nonlethal heat shock. An examination of the protein synthetic response of these short-starved cells during heat shock revealed that whereas they were able to initiate the synthesis of heat shock proteins, it was at a much reduced rate relative to controls and they quickly lost all capacity to synthesize any proteins. Certain pretreatments of cells, including a prior heat shock, abolished the heat shock inviability of these starved cells. Also, if cells were transferred to 10 mM Tris rather than 60 mM Tris, they were not killed by the same heat treatment. We found no abnormalities in either heat shock or non-heat shock mRNA metabolism in starved cells unable to survive a sublethal heat shock when compared with the response of those cells which can survive such a treatment. However, selective rRNA degradation occurred in the nonsurviving cells during the heat shock and this presumably accounted for their inviability. A prior heat shock administered to growing cells not only immunized them against the lethality of a heat shock while starved, but also prevented rRNA degradation from occurring.

Cell-specific expression of heat shock proteins in chicken reticulocytes and lymphocytes

We have found that chicken reticulocytes respond to elevated temperatures by the induction of only one heat shock protein, HSP70, whereas lymphocytes induce the synthesis of all four heat shock proteins (89,000 mol wt, HSP89; 70,000 mol wt, HSP70; 23,000 mol wt, HSP23; and 22,000 mol wt, HSP22). The synthesis of HSP70 in lymphocytes was rapidly induced by small increases in temperature (2 degrees-3 degrees C) and blocked by preincubation with actinomycin D. Proteins normally translated at control temperatures in reticulocytes or lymphocytes were not efficiently translated after incubation at elevated temperatures. The preferential translation of mRNAs that encode the heat shock proteins paralleled a block in the translation of other cellular proteins. This effect was most prominently observed in reticulocytes where heat shock almost completely repressed alpha- and beta-globin synthesis. HSP70 is one of the major nonglobin proteins in chicken reticulocytes, present in the non-heat-shocked cell at approximately 3 X 10(6) molecules per cell. We compared HSP70 from normal and heat-shocked reticulocytes by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis and by digestion with Staphylococcus aureus V8 protease and found no detectable differences to suggest that the P70 in the normal cell is different from the heat shock-induced protein, HSP70. P70 separated by isoelectric focusing gel electrophoresis into two major protein spots, an acidic P70A (apparent pl = 5.95) and a basic P70B (apparent pl = 6.2). We observed a tissue-specific expression of P70A and P70B in lymphocytes and reticulocytes. In lymphocytes, P70A is the major 70,000-mol-wt protein synthesized at normal temperatures whereas only P70B is synthesized at normal temperatures in reticulocytes. Following incubation at elevated temperatures, the synthesis of both HSP70A and HSP70B was rapidly induced in lymphocytes, but synthesis of only HSP70B was induced in reticulocytes.

Steroid and high-temperature induction of the small heat-shock protein genes in Drosophila

Transcription of the four small heat-shock protein genes of Drosophila melanogaster can be induced in cultured cells by high-temperature shock, or by physiological doses of the moulting hormone, ecdysterone. We have characterized and compared the two induction events, focusing on hsp22 and hsp23, in terms of rates of heat-shock protein synthesis, transcription rate, messenger RNA abundance and mRNA half-life. The results indicate that relative to hsp22, the rate of hsp23 synthesis is significantly greater during recovery from heat shock and during ecdysterone induction. This difference is not due to differences in transcription rate, but rather reflects differences in mRNA stability and translational efficiency. One intriguing finding is that hsp message stability is temperature-dependent; hsp transcripts are two to three times more stable at 35 degrees C than at 25 degrees C. The possible mechanism and significance of this phenomenon are discussed.

Heat shock protein synthesis and cell survival in clones of normal and simian virus 40-transformed mouse embryo cells

Exposure to hyperthermia induces the synthesis of a set of highly conserved polypeptides known as heat shock proteins (HSPs) in cells of most organisms. Since it has been suggested that these proteins may enhance cell survival by protecting cells from heat-inflicted damage, we studied the synthesis of the major HSPs (Mr 70,000 and 85,000) in clones of normal and SV40-transformed mouse embryo cells. These transformed cells had higher basal HSP levels and consistently synthesized the major HSPs at a higher rate both at physiological temperature and after exposure to heat shock (43-45 degrees). Parallel determination of cell survival showed that the transformed cells were, nevertheless, more susceptible to killing by hyperthermia than were their normal counterparts. Therefore, we conclude that the higher intrinsic resistance of the normal cells to killing by heat is not directly related to basal HSP levels or to the degree to which synthesis of these proteins is induced following exposure to hyperthermia. Considering the abnormal energy metabolism of transformed cells and the known sensitivity of HSP synthesis to energy source restriction, we hypothesize that both basal HSP levels and their induction by heat shock are related to alterations in energy metabolism.

Diamide reversibly induces a stress response in the sea urchin, Arbacia punctulata

Sea urchin blastulae were treated with two concentrations (0.54 and 0.72 mM) of diamide, a sulfhydryl oxidant, after hatching. These treatments increased the relative synthesis of one set of embryonic proteins while decreasing that of another. This was demonstrated by quantitating the incorporation of [35S]methionine into polypeptides separated by 2-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (2D PAGE). These shifts were dose dependent and apparently reversible after the embryos had regenerated reduced sulfhydryls. Those proteins showing increased incorporation migrated at the same position by 2D PAGE as heat shock proteins, suggesting that diamide was inducing a stress response. Diamide also caused some developmental aberrations at low frequency, and reversibly inhibited ciliary beating.

Development profile of the heat shock response in early embryos of Drosophila

Drosophila melanogaster embryos reared at 22 degrees C were subjected to a mild heat shock (40 min at 37 degrees C) at various ages in order to determine whether there are changes in the heat shock response during embryogenesis. The effects of the heat shock were measured by assaying (1), subsequent developmental abnormalities (2), developmental time (3), hatchability, and (4), the ability to synthesize the heat shock proteins as assayed by 35S-methionine pulse labeling followed by protein separations using both one-and two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Our data show that, first, proteins with molecular weights similar to those of six of the seven major heat shock proteins are normally found in the embryo at control temperatures (22 degrees C); second, that the pregastrula embryo (stages 2-6) is not capable of displaying any aspect of the heat shock response upon treatment, although it may possess all of the so-called heat shock proteins; third, that the complete heat shock response is acquired very rapidly by early gastrula embryos; and fourth, that the heat shock treatment brings about developmental delays and/or abnormalities, depending on the developmental stage of the embryo at the time of the treatment. These developmental abnormalities appear to stem from the failure of early embryos to completely inhibit their synthesis of non-heat-shock proteins. In the light of these findings, it becomes important not to base conclusions about the putative presence of a heat shock response in a particular tissue or developmental stage solely on the presence or absence of the heat shock proteins.