Abstract
Drosophila tissue culture cells stimulated by heat shock contain high levels of heat shock activator protein, which binds specifically to the heat-shock control DNA element. In contrast, nonshocked cells have low basal levels of binding activity. Here, we show that within 30 seconds of heat shock of intact cells the sequence-specific binding activity in whole cell extracts increases significantly, reaching a plateau by 5min after the start of the shock; removal of the heat stimulus returns the activity to basal levels. Known chemical inducers of heat-shock genes elicit a similar pattern of specific binding activity. Moreover, this pattern is observed in the presence of protein synthesis inhibitors, even if the stimulus-withdrawal is repeated sequentially through five cycles. Our results are inconsistent with models which propose proteolysis as the chief means of mediating heat-shock transcriptional control. Rather, they suggest that heat shock activator pre-exists in normal cells in a nonbinding form, which is converted upon cell stimulus to a high affinity, sequence-specific binding form, most probably by a post-translational modification. This conversion may be crucial for the transcriptional activation of heat shock genes.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Rent or buy this article
Prices vary by article type
from$1.95
to$39.95
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
1. Ritossa, F. Experientia (Basel) 18, 571–572 (1962).
2. Ritossa, F. M. Expl Cell Res. 35, 601–607 (1964).
3. Ashburner, M. & Bonner, J. J. Cell 17, 241–254 (1979).
4. Schlesinger, M. J., Ashburner, M. & Tissieres, A. (eds) Heat Shock (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, New York, 1982).
5. Lindquist, S. A. Rev. Biochem. 55, 1151–1191 (1986).
6. Craig, E. CRC crit. Rev. Biochem. 18, No. 3, 239–280 (1985).
7. Nover, L., Hellmund, D., Neumann, D., Scharf, K.–D. & Serfling, E. Biologisches Zentralblatt 103,357–435(1984).
8. Schlesinger, M. J. J. Cell Biol. 103, 321–335 (1986).
9. Pelham, H. R. B. Cell 30, 517–582 (1982).
10. Wu, C. Nature 309, 229–235 (1984).
11. Wu, C. Nature 311, 81–84 (1984).
12. Wu, C. Nature 317, 84–87 (1985).
13. Parker, C. & Topol, J. Cell 37, 273–283 (1984).
14. Topol, J., Ruden, D. M. & Parker, C. Cell 42, 527–537 (1985).
15. Munro, S. & Pelham, H. Nature 317, 477–478 (1985).
16. Ashburner, M. Chromosoma (Berlin) 31, 356–376 (1970).
17. Ritossa, F. M. & Pulitzer, J. F. J. Cell Biol. 19, 60A (1963).
18. Ananthan, J., Goldberg, A. L. & Voellmy, R. Science 232, 522–524 (1986).
19. Finley, D. & Varshavsky, A. TIBS 10, 343–347 (1985).
20. Garner, M. M. & Revzin, A. Nucleic Acids Res. 9, 3047–3060 (1981).
21. Fried, M. & Crothers, D. M. Nucleic Acids Res. 9, 6505–6525 (1981).
22. Sen, R. & Baltimore, D. Cell 47, 921–928 (1986).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Zimarino, V., Wu, C. Induction of sequence-specific binding of Drosophila heat shock activator protein without protein synthesis. Nature 327, 727–730 (1987). https://doi.org/10.1038/327727a0
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/327727a0
This article is cited by
-
Differential expression and regulation of HSP70 gene during growth phase in ruminants in response to heat stress
Scientific Reports (2022)
-
Trapping and Driving Individual Charged Micro-particles in Fluid with an Electrostatic Device
Nano-Micro Letters (2016)
-
Transcriptional and post-transcriptional regulation of Sprouty1, a receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor in prostate cancer
Prostate Cancer and Prostatic Diseases (2011)
-
Regulation of behavioral plasticity by systemic temperature signaling in Caenorhabditis elegans
Nature Neuroscience (2011)
-
Inducible gene expression: diverse regulatory mechanisms
Nature Reviews Genetics (2010)
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.