Surviving the heat: the role of macromolecular assemblies in promoting cellular shutdown

During heat shock (HS), cells orchestrate a gene expression program that promotes the synthesis of HS proteins (HSPs) while simultaneously repressing the synthesis of other proteins, including growth-promoting housekeeping proteins. Recent studies show that mRNAs encoding housekeeping proteins, along with associated processing factors, form macromolecular assemblies during HS. These assemblies inhibit transcription, nuclear export, and translation of housekeeping mRNAs, and coincide with structural rearrangements in proteins. These findings reveal a mechanism linking temperature sensitivity through structural rearrangements and macromolecular assembly to the 'shut down' of housekeeping protein synthesis. This review delves into recent findings in yeast, with a focus on macromolecular assembly, offering perspectives into mechanisms that regulate gene expression during HS and how these processes may be conserved.