Xenopus heat shock factor 1 is a nuclear protein before heat stress

Stress-induced expression of the heat shock (hs) genes in eukaryotes is mediated by a transcription factor known as heat shock factor 1 (HSF1). HSF1 is present in a latent, monomeric form in unstressed metazoan cells and upon exposure to heat or other forms of stress is converted to an "active" trimeric form, which binds the promoters of hs genes and induces their transcription. The conversion of HSF1 to its active form is hypothesized to be a multistep process involving (i) oligomerization of HSF1, plus (ii) additional changes in its physical conformation, (iii) changes in its phosphorylation state, and for some species (iv) translocation from the cytoplasm to the nucleus. Oligomerization of HSF appears to be essential for high affinity DNA binding, but it remains unclear whether the other steps occur in all organisms or what their mechanistic roles are. In this study we have examined if heat-induced cytoplasmic-nuclear translocation of HSF1 occurs in Xenopus oocytes. We observed that germinal vesicles (nuclei) that were physically dissected from unshocked Xenopus laevis oocytes contain no HSF1 binding activity. Interestingly, in vitro heat shock treatments of isolated nuclei from unshocked oocytes activated HSF1 binding, indicating that HSF1 must have been present in the unshocked nuclei prior to isolation. Induction of HSF1 binding was not observed in enucleated oocytes. Western blot analysis using an affinity-purified polyclonal antibody made against X. laevis HSF1 showed that HSF1 is present in equal amounts in unshocked and shocked oocytes and isolated nuclei. HSF1 was not detected in enucleated oocytes. These results clearly demonstrate that HSF1 is a nuclear protein in oocytes prior to exposure to stress. In Xenopus oocytes, therefore, HSF1 translocation from the cytoplasm to the nucleus is not part of the multistep process of HSF1 activation. These results also imply that the signals and/or factors involved in HSF1 activation must have their effect in the nuclear compartment.