Effects of neurohormonal stress and aging on the activation of mammalian heat shock factor 1

Plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 is a major stress-regulated gene: implications for stress-induced thrombosis in aged individuals

Plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) is one of the primary inhibitors of the fibrinolytic system and has been implicated in a variety of thrombotic disorders. In this report, stress-induced changes in murine PAI-1 gene expression were investigated to study the role of this inhibitor in the development of stress-induced hypercoagulability. Restraint stress led to a dramatic induction of plasma PAI-1 antigen and of tissue PAI-1 mRNA with maximum induction in adipose tissues. In situ hybridization analysis of the stressed mice revealed that strong signals for PAI-1 mRNA were localized to hepatocytes, renal tubular epithelial cells, adrenomedullar chromaffin cells, neural cells in the paraaortic sympathetic ganglion, vascular smooth muscle cells, and adipocytes, but not to endothelial cells. These observations indicate that the stress induces the PAI-1 gene expression in a tissue-specific and cell type-specific manner. The induction of PAI-1 mRNA by restraint stress was greater than that observed for heat shock protein, a typical stress protein, suggesting that PAI-1 is one of the most highly induced stress proteins. Importantly, the magnitude of induction of PAI-1 mRNA by stress increased markedly with age, and this increase in PAI-1 correlated with tissue thrombosis in the older stressed mice. Moreover, much less tissue thrombosis was induced by restraint stress in young and aged PAI-1-deficient mice compared with age-matched wild-type mice. These results suggest that the large induction of PAI-1 by stress increases the risk for thrombosis in the older populations, and that the adipose tissue may be involved.

Heat shock proteins and cardiovascular pathophysiology

In the eukaryotic cell an intrinsic mechanism is present providing the ability to defend itself against external stressors from various sources. This defense mechanism probably evolved from the presence of a group of chaperones, playing a crucial role in governing proper protein assembly, folding, and transport. Upregulation of the synthesis of a number of these proteins upon environmental stress establishes a unique defense system to maintain cellular protein homeostasis and to ensure survival of the cell. In the cardiovascular system this enhanced protein synthesis leads to a transient but powerful increase in tolerance to such endangering situations as ischemia, hypoxia, oxidative injury, and endotoxemia. These so-called heat shock proteins interfere with several physiological processes within several cell organelles and, for proper functioning, are translocated to different compartments following stress-induced synthesis. In this review we describe the physiological role of heat shock proteins and discuss their protective potential against various stress agents in the cardiovascular system.

Regulation of prostaglandin A1-induced heat shock protein expression in isolated cardiomyocytes

Prostaglandins of the A-type (PGAs) induce heat shock protein (HSP) synthesis in a wide variety of mammalian cells resulting in protection against cellular stresses. The effect of PGAs on HSP-induction in cardiac myocytes is unknown. Therefore, we investigated the effect of PGA1 on HSP synthesis in adult rat cardiac myocytes. After 24 h of treatment, HSP72 was significantly increased 2.9-, 5.6- and 5.0-fold by PGA1 used at concentrations of 10, 20 or 40 microg/ml, respectively (P<0.05). However, the PGA1-concentration of 40 microg/ml, was found to be cytotoxic as evidenced by the release of LDH. In addition to HSP72, HSP32 was significantly increased by PGA1. The HSP32 induction was more vigorous with a marked increase with only 4 microg/ml of PGA1. No differences in the levels of HSP27, HSP60 or HSP90 were detected. When isolated cardiac myocytes were treated with PGA1, clear activation of heat shock factor (HSF) 1, one of the transcription factors for HSPs, was observed. In addition, another stress-induced transcription factor NFkappaB was also activated by PGA exposure. Despite the significant upregulation of both HSP72 and HSP32 cytoprotective properties against hypoxia and reoxygenation were absent. In conclusion, these experiments show for the first time that PGA1 induces differential expression of heat shock proteins in cardiac myocytes probably mediated through the activation of both HSF1 and NFkappaB.

Aging lowers steady-state antioxidant enzyme and stress protein expression in primary hepatocytes

It has been reported that the isolation and culture of primary hepatocytes can compromise cellular ability to constituitively express antioxidant enzyme (AE) genes, making it difficult to study their regulation ex vivo. In the present study, the steady-state expression of manganese-containing superoxide dismutase, copper- and zinc-containing superoxide dismutase, catalase, and glutathione peroxidase was assessed in primary hepatocytes isolated from young and senescent rats and cultured in MATRIGEL: There was no change in steady-state superoxide dismutase protein or activity levels in cells collected from young animals and cultured for 7 days. Catalase expression was initially increased, and then it declined 30%. In contrast, superoxide dismutase expression declined 60% and catalase expression declined 50% in cells from senescent animals. Constitutive and inducible 70-kDa heat shock protein expression increased coincident with declining AE levels in the young cells but not senescent cells. For both age groups, electron micrographs showed rounded hepatocytes with abundant rough endoplasmic reticulum, mitochondria, and peroxisomes. Hepatocytes were organized into clusters of 6-12 cells surrounding a large central lumen devoid of microvilli. Each cluster also contained smaller microvilli-lined lumens between adjacent hepatocytes that resembled canniculi. The plasma membranes of these lumens were sealed from the extracellular space by junctional complexes. Gap junctions in the plasma membrane suggest that hepatocytes were capable of intercellular communication. We conclude that the Matrigel system can be used to study AE regulation in primary hepatocytes from young and senescent animals, provided that experiments can be conducted within a time frame of 5-7 days in culture. These data also support the hypothesis that aging compromises hepatocellular ability to maintain AE status and upregulate stress protein expression.

Canonical heat shock element in the alpha B-crystallin gene shows tissue-specific and developmentally controlled interactions with heat shock factor

Oligomerization of the heat shock factor (HSF) and its interaction with the heat shock element (HSE) are the hallmark of active transcriptional response to tangible physical or chemical stress. It is unknown if these interactions are subject to control and modulation by developmental cues and thus have tissue or stage specificity. By using promoter sequences containing a canonical HSE from the alphaB-crystallin gene, we demonstrate a tissue-specific transition from monomeric (in fetal and early neonatal stages that lack oligomeric HSF.HSE complexes) to oligomeric HSF-HSE interactions by postnatal day 10-21 in the ocular lens. Developmental control of these interactions is further demonstrated by induction of oligomeric HSF.HSE complexes in neonatal extracts by in vitro manipulations, interestingly, only in the lens and not in the brain, heart, or liver extracts. The exclusive presence of oligomeric HSF.HSE complexes in the postnatal/adult lens corresponds to known highly increased number of alphaB-crystallin transcripts in this tissue.

Expression of heat shock protein 70 decreases with age in hepatocytes and splenocytes from female rats

A decline in the induction of heat shock protein 70 (hsp70) expression with age has been shown to occur in a variety of tissues from male rodents. Because the age-related change in the expression of many genes often differ in male and female rodents, we have measured the induction of hsp70 expression in hepatocytes and splenocytes from young/adult (4-8 months) and old (20-22 months) female Fischer 344 rats. Hepatocytes and splenocytes isolated from old female rats showed a marked decrease in the induction of hsp70 mRNA and protein levels by heat shock when compared to hepatocytes and splenocytes isolated from young/adult female rats. Because the heat shock transcription factor HSF1 mediates the heat-induced transcription of hsp70, the effect of age on HSF1 was also studied. The ability of extracts from heat-shocked splenocytes to bind to the heat shock element (HSE) decreased with age. Interestingly, the levels of HSF1 protein were similar in splenocytes and hepatocytes from old female rats compared to young/adult female rats, even though the levels of HSE-binding were lower for splenocytes isolated from old rats. In this study, we show an age-related decline in the expression of hsp70, and this decline was similar to what we had previously observed in male Fischer 344 rats.

Negative regulation of the heat shock transcriptional response by HSBP1

In response to stress, heat shock factor 1 (HSF1) acquires rapid DNA binding and transient transcriptional activity while undergoing conformational transition from an inert non-DNA-binding monomer to active functional trimers. Attenuation of the inducible transcriptional response occurs during heat shock or upon recovery at non-stress conditions and involves dissociation of the HSF1 trimer and loss of activity. We have used the hydrophobic repeats of the HSF1 trimerization domain in the yeast two-hybrid protein interaction assay to identify heat shock factor binding protein 1 (HSBP1), a novel, conserved, 76-amino-acid protein that contains two extended arrays of hydrophobic repeats that interact with the HSF1 heptad repeats. HSBP1 is nuclear-localized and interacts in vivo with the active trimeric state of HSF1 that appears during heat shock. During attenuation of HSF1 to the inert monomer, HSBP1 associates with Hsp70. HSBP1 negatively affects HSF1 DNA-binding activity, and overexpression of HSBP1 in mammalian cells represses the transactivation activity of HSF1. To establish a biological role for HSBP1, the homologous Caenorhabditis elegans protein was overexpressed in body wall muscle cells and was shown to block activation of the heat shock response from a heat shock promoter-reporter construct. Alteration in the level of HSBP1 expression in C. elegans has severe effects on survival of the animals after thermal and chemical stress, consistent with a role for HSBP1 as a negative regulator of the heat shock response.

The expression of heat shock protein 70 decreases with cellular senescence in vitro and in cells derived from young and old human subjects

Because heat shock proteins have been shown to play a critical role in protecting cells from hyperthermia and other types of stresses, it was of interest to determine what effect cellular senescence in vitro and cells cultured in vitro from young and old human donors have on the ability of cells to regulate the expression of heat shock protein 70 (hsp70), the most prominent and most evolutionary conserved of the heat shock proteins. The ability of early and late passage IMR-90 lung fibroblasts and epidermal melanocytes and skin fibroblasts obtained from young and old human donors to express hsp70 was determined after a brief heat shock. We found that the levels of hsp70 protein and mRNA were lower in late passage cells and cells from old donors than in early passage cells and cells from young donors. The binding activity of the heat shock transcription factor HSF1, as measured by a gel shift assay, was significantly higher in early passage cells and cells from young donors in comparison to late passage cells and cells from old donors. In addition, the levels of HSF1 decreased significantly in late passage cells and cells from old donors in comparison to early passage cells and cells from young donors. Thus, our study demonstrates that the induction of hsp70 by hyperthermia in fibroblasts is significantly lower in late passage fibroblasts and in fibroblasts from old donors. In addition, our study shows that the decline in hsp70 expression during cellular senescence in vitro and in cells derived from old human subjects is paralleled by a decrease in the levels of HSF1.

Induction of the DNA-binding and transcriptional activities of heat shock factor 1 is uncoupled in Xenopus oocytes

The DNA-binding and transcriptional activities of the heat shock transcription factor 1 (HSF1) are repressed under normal conditions and rapidly upregulated by heat stress. Here, we tested for the ability of various stress agents to activate HSF1 in the Xenopus oocyte model system. The HSE-binding activity of HSF1 was induced by a number of chemical stresses including cadmium, aluminum, iron, mercury, arsenite, ethanol, methanol, and salicylate. HSE-binding was not induced by several stresses known to induce the synthesis of hsps in other cell types in different organisms including zinc, copper, cobalt, manganese, recovery from anoxia, UV-irradiation, and increased pH. The inability of several known inducers of the stress response to activate the HSE-binding ability of HSF1 suggests that certain stress activation pathways may be absent or inactive in oocytes. The transcriptional activity of oocyte HSF1 was induced by heat, cadmium, and arsenite, but many of the agents that induced HSE-binding failed to stimulate HSF1-mediated transcription. The apparent uncoupling of inducible HSE-binding and transcriptional activities of HSF1 under a variety of stress regimes indicates that these events are regulated by independent mechanisms in the oocyte.

Different thresholds in the responses of two heat shock transcription factors, HSF1 and HSF3

Avian cells express three HSF genes encoding a unique factor, HSF3, as well as homologues of mammalian HSF1 and HSF2. HSF1 is the major factor that mediates the heat shock signal in mammalian cells. We reported previously that cHSF3, as well as cHSF1, is activated by heat shock in chicken cells. In this study, we examined the functional differences between cHSF1 and cHSF3. Comparison of the heat-inducible DNA binding activity of cHSF1 with cHSF3 at various temperatures revealed that the latter was activated at higher temperatures than the former. At a mild heat shock, such as 41 degrees C, only cHSF1 was activated, whereas both cHSF1 and cHSF3 were activated following a severe heat shock at 45 degrees C. Heat-inducible nuclear translocation and trimerization were accompanied by DNA binding activity. We also observed that cHSF3 was activated by treating cells with higher concentrations of sodium arsenite compared to cHSF1. The DNA binding activity of cHSF3 by severe heat shock lasted for a longer period than that of cHSF1. Interestingly, the total amount of cHSF3 increased only upon severe heat shock, whereas that of HSF1 decreased. Substantial amounts of cHSF3 remained in the soluble fraction under severe heat shock, whereas cHSF1 rapidly moved to the insoluble fractions in that conditions. Comparison of transcriptional activity of the activation domains of cHSF1 and cHSF3 revealed that the activity of cHSF3 was as strong as that of cHSF1. These findings indicate that there are different thresholds for cHSF1 and cHSF3 and that cHSF3 is involved in the persistent and burst activation of stress genes upon severe stress in chicken cells. Pretreatment of cycloheximide elevated the threshold concentrations of arsenite of both factors. This suggests that denaturation of nascent polypeptides could be the first trigger for the activation of both factors, and the pathways for activation of cHSF1 and cHSF3 may be identical, or at least share some common mechanisms.

The heat shock stress response after brain lesions: induction of 72 kDa heat shock protein (cell types involved, axonal transport, transcriptional regulation) and protein synthesis inhibition

The cerebral stress response is examined following a variety of pathological conditions such as focal and global ischemia, administration of excitotoxins, and hyperthermia. Expression of 72 kDa heat shock protein (Hsp70) and hsp70 mRNA, the mechanism underlying induction of hsp70 mRNA involving activation of heat shock factor 1, and inhibition of cerebral protein synthesis are different aspects of the stress response considered here. The results are compared with those in the literature on induction, transcriptional regulation, expression, and cellular location of Hsp70, with a view to getting more insight into the function of the stress response in the injured brain. The present results illustrate that Hsp70 can be expressed in cells affected at various degrees following an insult that will either survive or dic as the brain lesion develops, depending on the severity of cell injury. This indicates that, under certain circumstances, synthesized Hsp70 might be necessary but not sufficient to ensure cell survival. Other situations involve uncoupling between synthesis of hsp70 mRNA and protein, probably due to very strict protein synthesis blockade, and often result in cell loss. Cells eventually will die if protein synthesis rates do not go back to normal after a period of protein synthesis inhibition. The stress response is a dynamic event that is switched on in neural cells sensitive to a brain insult. The stress response is, however, tricky, as affected cells seem to need it, have to deal transiently with it, but eventually be able to get rid of it, in order to survive. Putative therapeutic treatments can act either selectively, potentiating the synthesis of Hsp70 protein and recovery of protein synthesis, or preventing the stress response by deadening the insult severity.

Heat shock response--pathophysiological implications

All organisms exposed to environmental stress conditions share a common molecular response characterized by a dramatic change in the pattern of gene expression followed by an elevated synthesis of heat shock or stress proteins. These proteins function as molecular chaperones to protect cells from environmental stress damage by binding to partially denatured proteins, dissociating protein aggregates, and regulating the correct folding and intracellular translocation of newly synthesized polypeptides. Accumulating evidence supports a role for heat shock proteins in a number of disease states of which inflammatory reactions and ischaema provide the best studied examples. The inducible heat shock response involves transcriptional gene activation mediated by specific regulatory proteins called heat shock transcription factors, which bind to the promoter of heat shock genes in a sequence-specific manner. However, the signalling pathways leading to the activation of these transcription factors need to be characterized in more detail to be able to understand the role, cause, or consequence, of heat shock proteins in human diseases. This review presents recent progress in unravelling the regulation of heat shock gene expression in cells subjected to heat or other forms of stress. By using inflammatory responses and myocardial ischaema as examples, the putative use of heat shock proteins are discussed as targets for future therapeutic applications.

Activation of heat shock transcription factor 1 in rat aorta in response to high blood pressure

We have previously demonstrated that acute hypertension induces heat shock protein gene expression in rat arterial wall. Here we provide evidence that this induction is mediated through the activation of heat shock transcription factor 1 in response to high blood pressure. Rats subjected to restraint or immobilization stress displayed an acute elevation in systolic pressure accompanied by an increase in heat shock protein 70 mRNA expression. Consistent with the rapid time course of mRNA induction, an increase in binding activity to an oligonucleotide encompassing a consensus heat shock element sequence was seen in protein extracts from aorta of restrained rats as assessed with gel mobility shift assays. A similar increase in DNA binding activity was also observed in aortic extracts from rats treated with various hypertensive agents, including phenylephrine, angiotensin II, and vasopressin. That the DNA binding activity was attributed to heat shock factor 1 was shown through use of antibodies to the transcription factor that retarded the DNA-protein complexes in gel mobility supershift assays. Western blot analysis of heat shock factor 1 protein expression in aortic extracts showed a slower mobility form of the protein in hypertensive rats, indicative of an activated, presumably phosphorylated, form of the transcription factor. These findings support the view that heat shock factor 1 is responsible for induction of heat shock protein 70 in the arterial wall during acute hypertension, a response that is likely to play an important role in protecting arteries during hemodynamic stress.

In vivo activation of neural heat shock transcription factor HSF1 by a physiologically relevant increase in body temperature

Molecular mechanisms which underlie the heat shock response have commonly been analyzed using tissue culture systems, with less investigation of the intact mammal. In tissue culture, a temperature elevation of 5 degrees C is required to activate mammalian heat shock transcription factor 1 (HSF1) to the DNA-binding form. We demonstrate that a physiologically relevant increase in body temperature of 2.5 +/- 0.2 degrees C, similar to that attained during fever reactions, is sufficient to activate HSF1 in the rabbit nervous system. Maximal HSF activation, as measured by gel mobility shift assay, was attained at 1 hr with the cerebellum showing the strongest signal. Supershift experiments with antibodies specific to HSF1 and HSF2 demonstrated that the signal reflected activation of HSF1. Western blot analysis showed that cerebellum exhibited high levels of HSF1 protein.

Attenuated heat shock transcriptional response in aging: molecular mechanism and implication in the biology of aging

A characteristic feature of aging is a progressive impairment in the ability to adapt to environmental challenges. The purpose of this review is to present the experimental evidence of an attenuated heat shock transcriptional response to heat and physiological stresses in a number of aging mammalian model systems. These include the human diploid fibroblasts in culture, whole animals and animal derived cells and cell cultures, as well as peripheral blood mononuclear cells obtained from human donors. The possibility that age-dependent changes in cellular redox status, as exemplified by the increased production of reactive oxygen inter-mediates and accumulation of oxidatively-modified proteins, affects the regulation and function of the heat shock factor 1 (HSF1) and contributes to the attenuated heat shock transcriptional response in aging cells and organisms is discussed. Given the fundamentally important role of HSPs in many aspects of protein homeostasis and signal transduction, it seems likely that the inability, or compromised ability, of aging cells and organisms to produce HSPs in response to stress would contribute to the well known increase in morbidity and mortality of the aged when challenged.

Effect of caloric restriction on the expression of heat shock protein 70 and the activation of heat shock transcription factor 1

The regulation of heat shock protein 70 (hsp70) expression is an excellent example of a cellular mechanism that has evolved to protect all living organisms from various types of physiological stresses; therefore, the reported age-related alterations in the ability of cells to express hsp70 in response to stress could seriously compromise the ability of a senescent organism in respond to changes in its environment. Because caloric restriction (CR) is the only experimental manipulation known to retard aging and increase the survival of rodents, it was of interest to analyze the effect of CR on the age-related alteration in the induction of hsp70 expression in rat hepatocytes. The effect of CR on the nuclear transcription of hsp70 gene in rat hepatocytes in response to various levels of heat shock was determined, and it was found that the age-related decline in the transcription of hsp70 at all temperatures studied was reversed by CR. Because the heat shock transcription factor (HSF) mediates the heat-induced transcription of hsp70, the effect of CR on the induction of HSF binding activity by heat shock was studied and found to arise from HSF1, which has been shown to be involved in the induction of HSF binding activity in other cell types. The age-related decrease in the induction of HSF1 binding activity in rat hepatocytes was reversed by CR, and did not appear to be due to an accumulation of inhibitory molecules with age. Interestingly, the level of HSF1 protein was significantly higher in hepatocytes isolated from old rats fed ad libitum compared to hepatocytes obtained from rats fed the CR diet even though the levels of HSF1 binding activity were lower for hepatocytes isolated from the old rats fed ad libitum. The levels of the mRNA transcript for HSF1 was not significantly altered by age or CR. Thus, the changes in HSF1 binding activity with age and CR do not arise from changes in the level of HSF1 protein available for activation.

Activation of heat shock factor 1 in rat brain during cerebral ischemia or after heat shock

Recently, many studies have demonstrated the induction of stress proteins in the mammalian nervous system under various pathological conditions. These altered genetic programs may function to protect individual cells against stressful conditions. However, little is known about the molecular mechanisms regulating these stress responses in animals. We report here the activation of a heat shock factor (HSF) in the rat brain during cerebral ischemia or after heat shock. Gel mobility shift assays revealed an increase in DNA binding activity to the heat shock element (HSE) during the early phases of ischemia. Supershift experiments using specific antisera against HSF1 and HSF2 showed that the ischemia-induced HSE-binding activity was mainly due to HSF1. In the heat-shocked brain, HSF1 was also activated, and the HSE-binding activity was higher in the cerebellum than in the cerebral cortex or hippocampus; Western blot analysis also showed that HSF1 was more abundant in the cerebellum than in the other two brain regions. Our results indicate that heat shock gene transcription is regulated by the activation of HSF1 in both cerebral ischemia and heat shock, and that different brain regions display differential sensitivities in their stress response. The cellular signals for heat shock gene transcription under in vivo pathological conditions will also be discussed.