Transfection with hsp70i protects rat dorsal root ganglia neurones and glia from heat stress.
Studies have shown that the induction of heat shock proteins (hsp's) in the CNS is protective against excitotoxicity and correlative evidence also suggest that hsp's may be protective against ischemic stress and free radical damage. In fibroblasts and Chinese hamster ovary cells expression of hsp70i has been shown to be essential if the cells are to survive an heat stress. To investigate the effect of constitutive overexpression of hsp72 inducible (hsp70i) in neurones and glia we transfected rat dorsal root ganglia (DRG) with a plasmid construct containing the human EF-1 alpha-promoter and human hsp70i. The results showed that prior transfection with hsp70i protected both neurones and glia from heat stress. These data support the hypothesis that overexpression of hsp70i plays an important role in enhancing the survival of neuronal cells following stress and suggests that the induction of a stress response in the CNS may provide an alternative form of treatment for neurodegenerative diseases.
Department of Anatomy, University of Cambridge, U.K.
J B
JB
Uney
K
K
Staley
P
P
Tyers
M V
MV
Sofroniew
J N
JN
Kew
D000818:Animals; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D005727:Ganglia, Spinal / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D018840:HSP70 Heat-Shock Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D018882:Heat Stress Disorders / Q000517:prevention & control*; D006801:Humans; D007763:Lac Operon; D009457:Neuroglia / Q000473:pathology*; D009474:Neurons / Q000473:pathology*; D020648:Peptide Elongation Factor 1; D010445:Peptide Elongation Factors / Q000235:genetics; D010957:Plasmids; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic; D051381:Rats
D018840:HSP70 Heat-Shock Proteins; D020648:Peptide Elongation Factor 1; D010445:Peptide Elongation Factors