Temporal profile of the induction of heat shock protein 70 and heat shock cognate protein 70 mRNAs after transient ischemia in gerbil brain.

Distributions of heat shock protein (HSP) 70 and heat shock cognate protein (HSC) 70 mRNAs after 2, 5 and 15 min of transient global ischemia in gerbil forebrain were investigated by in situ hybridization using cloned cDNA probes selective for each mRNA species. Morphological studies were also performed at the dorsal hippocampal level of coronal sections from the identical brains until 7 days after the reperfusion. Following 2 min of ischemia, HSP70 and HSC70 mRNAs were induced together in hippocampal dentate granule cells at 1 and 3 h of the reperfusion. No histological change was observed in brain cells. Following 5 min of ischemia, HSP70 and HSC70 mRNAs were induced in all hippocampal cells. The induction of HSP70 mRNA in hippocampal CA1 cells sustained until 2 days, while that of HSC70 mRNA declined gradually. Only CA1 cells were lost at 7 days of the reperfusion. Following 15 min of ischemia, the mRNAs were induced in more extensive brain regions including neocortex and thalamic nuclei. In hippocampal CA1 cells, inductions of HSP70 and HSC70 mRNAs diminished by 2 days corresponding with the neuronal damage. HSC70 mRNA induction was not so much as HSP70 mRNA induction especially in hippocampal CA1 and thalamic cells. Our results showed that HSP70 and HSC70 mRNAs were generally induced together after transient ischemia, but that the inductions were spatially and chronologically different after different periods of ischemia. The dissociation of the induction was also found in cells severely injured after 5 and 15 min of ischemia.