Coordinate and independent regulation of alpha B-crystallin and hsp27 expression in response to physiological stress.

alpha-Crystallins share structural and functional properties with the stress protein hsp27. These polypeptides are expressed at low constitutive levels in many tissues including brain, and alpha B-crystallin and hsp27 can accumulate in central nervous system glia in a variety of neurological conditions. We report here that heat shock and exposure to transition metals result in an increase in the steady state mRNA level of alpha B-crystallin and hsp27 in primary cultures of rat forebrain astrocytes. Both exposure to tumour necrosis factor-alpha and hypertonic conditions result in alpha B-crystallin mRNA accumulation but no change in the hsp27 mRNA level. Under some of these conditions increased synthesis and accumulation of alpha B-crystallin and hsp27 protein are also evident. We are unable to detect alpha A-crystallin mRNA in resting or stressed astrocytes. A novel phenomenon involving a transitory change in stress protein mRNA mobility in Northern blots during induction is reported, which is stress type and cell type independent. The results demonstrate multiple stress regulation of alpha B-crystallin and hsp27 in cultured astrocytes, suggesting that they can legitimately be regarded as stress proteins in the central nervous system.