Hyperthermia in the chick embryo: HSP and possible mechanisms of developmental defects

Although hyperthermia is an established teratogen in all species studied and the cellular heat shock response is well known, the mechanisms of developmental deviation remain obscure. We have used a chick model system in which fertilized eggs containing embryos at presomite and/or early somite stages (HH 4-10) were exposed to 45 degrees C for 180 min. Six hours following treatment we did not observe any overt morphological disturbance, but at twelve hours following exposure (when controls reached HH 11-13) embryos exposed at late streak stages (HH 4-6) exhibited severe malformation of the head. Embryos exposed later (HH 6-9) manifested spina bifida at the thoracic and lumbosacral levels. Mirror image heart looping was also observed in 20% of these embryos. Paraxial mesoderm was apparently unaffected. Changes in cell proliferation and induced cell death preceded morphological changes. We used acridine orange and confocal laser microscopy to demonstrate that hyperthermia induced cell death in neural folds starting 6 h following treatment. To assess cell proliferation, we used BrdU incorporation for 4 h. Immunodetection on paraffin sections demonstrated that proliferation was inhibited 6 h after treatment. Heat-exposed embryos exhibited the heat shock response, with protein expression reaching a maximum 4-6 h following heat treatment. Malformed embryos showed an intense heat shock response for a further 6 h. The levels of induced heat shock proteins were similar in the affected neural tube and in the heart, where neither induced cell death nor malformations were observed.