70-kDa heat shock protein and c-fos gene expression after transient ischemia

Induction of messenger RNA encoding the 70-kDa heat shock or stress protein, hsp70, and the product of the proto-oncogene c-fos was evaluated in gerbil hippocampus by in situ hybridization at various recirculation intervals after 5 minutes of ischemia. Striking increases in c-fos RNA were observed in dentate granule cells within 15 minutes of recirculation and remained evident through 1 hour, returning to undetectable control levels by 3 hours. Modest c-fos hybridization was seen in CA1 and CA3 neurons during the same time course. These results are consistent with the rapid and transient stimulation-induced c-fos expression observed in many experimental systems. Hsp70 expression showed a longer time course, being strongly induced in all major hippocampal neuron populations within 3 hours and persisting for approximately 12 hours in dentate granule cells and through 24 hours in CA3 pyramidal neurons. Notably, the most prolonged expression of hsp70 RNA was observed in vulnerable CA1 neurons that minimally accumulate the immunoreactive protein, with hybridization detected essentially until the death of this cell population at 3-4 days. These studies demonstrate an overlapping distribution of hsp70 and c-fos expression in gerbil hippocampus after ischemia, although there are differences in time course and in the relative induction observed in different neuron populations. The transient increase in c-fos hybridization in dentate granule cells is identical to that seen in various seizure paradigms and provides further support for activation of hippocampal circuitry after ischemia. The prolonged time course of hsp70 messenger RNA expression in vulnerable CA1 neurons may provide a molecular correlate of proposed excitotoxic mechanisms mediating delayed neuronal death.