HSP70 Constitutive Expression in Rat Central Nervous System from Postnatal Development to MaturityGuillermo Bodegaa, Celia Hernándeza, Isabel Suáreza, Montserrat Martína, and Benjamín Fernándezba Departamento de Biología Celular y Genética, Universidad de Alcalá, Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Spain b Departamento de Biología Celular, Facultad de Biología, Universidad Complutense, Madrid, Spain Correspondence to: Guillermo Bodega, Departamento de Biología Celular y Genética, Universidad de Alcalá, 28871 Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Spain. E-mail: guillermo.bodega@uah.es
We studied the level of the basal (constitutive) HSP70 expression (inducible and constitutive forms) in the central nervous system (CNS) of male and female rats from the postnatal period to maturity. HSP70 levels were analyzed by immunoblotting in five different areas (cortex, hippocampus, hypothalamus, cerebellum, and spinal cord). The highest levels of HSP70 were found in juvenile rats and decreased progressively until reaching baseline levels between 2 and 4 months. A slight and nonsignificant increase in aged (2-year-old) rats compared with adult subjects was observed in some cerebral areas (cerebral cortex, hippocampus, and cerebellum). In the first weeks of postnatal development, HSP70 immunoreactivity was distributed throughout CNS sections and no specific immunopositive cells could be clearly determined. In adult animals, strong immunostaining was observed in some large neurons (Purkinje neurons and mesencephalic and spinal cord motor neurons), some perivascular and subpial astrocytes, and ependymocytes. Immunoelectron microscopy revealed that HSP70 in these cells is located in the perinuclear area and in mitochondria, rough endoplasmic reticulum, and microtubules. In neurons, strong immunolabeling was also observed in synaptic membranes. The postnatal time course of HSP70 levels and the location and size of HSP70-immunopositive cells suggest that HSP70 constitutively expressed in the rat CNS may be mainly determined by the degree of development and metabolic activity of the neural cells. (J Histochem Cytochem 50:11611168, 2002) Key Words: HSP70, neuron, astrocyte, ependymocyte, CNS development
CELLS respond to stress by synthesizing a specific group of proteins, known as stress proteins or heat shock proteins (HSPs), because they were discovered by using heat shock as the stressor agent. HSP synthesis is a ubiquitous protective cell response that is highly conserved among species. At least 11 families of HSPs have been described, most of them expressed constitutively but strongly induced by stress conditions or at certain developmental stages. The most prominent function of HSPs is to act as molecular chaperones that help other proteins to maintain or regain their native conformation. They also are involved in protein translocation across membranes (see reviews by
The HSPs are usually classified according to their molecular weight. Among the 11 families described, attention has focused on the family of 70-kD heat shock protein (HSP70) because it is prominently induced in a variety of models of cell stress and is also the best conserved stress protein. HSP70 is a multigene family composed of constitutively expressed members (Hsc70) and stress-inducible members (Hsp70), and both can be basally expressed in the nervous system under control conditions (
HSP70 binds and subsequently releases partially unfolded proteins in an ATP-dependent manner. More specifically, members of the HSP70 family protect nascent protein chains after synthesis, translocate proteins across membranes, and refold proteins after denaturation or during protein degradation (see reviews by
Expression of HSP70 proteins has been demonstrated in the central nervous system (CNS). The neural tissue has a high HSP70 constitutive expression compared with other organs and tissues ( Most of the studies in the literature have analyzed the response to stress, with little attention to HSP expression under unstressed conditions. The aim of the present study was to examine the constitutive (basal) expression of HSP70 in the normal rat CNS from the postnatal period to maturity. Because the inducible form of HSP70 can also be constitutively expressed in the normal CNS (see above), we have used an anti-HSP70 antibody that recognizes both constitutive and inducible forms. Moreover, the immunohistochemical (IHC) study was made to identify the type of neural cells involved in HSP70 expression and the immunoelectron microscopic study was also made to localize HSP70 at the subcellular level.
Male and female Wistar rats (Rattus norvegicus L.) were analyzed at different postnatal ages (7, 14, and 21 days, 1, 2, 4, and 8 months, 1 and 2 years). They were maintained on a 12-hr dark/light cycle, housed at 20 ± 1C, 50% relative humidity, and fed and watered ad libitum. Animal care procedures were conducted according to the directive 86/609/EEC adopted by the Council of the European Communities for the protection of animals used for experimental and other scientific purposes.
Immunoblotting Supernatant samples (7 µg) were prepared for electrophoresis on polyacrylamide slab gels transforming their buffer in a solubilization buffer (0.06 M Tris, 5% ß-mercaptoethanol, 2% SDS, 10% glycerol, pH 6.8). The amount of protein per sample was obtained from the linear ranges of standard curves. Stacking gels contained 4% and separating gels contained 10% acrylamide. After electrophoresis proteins were transferred to nitrocellulose (HSI; San Francisco, CA). The nitrocellulose sheets were cut into strips, washed in Tris buffer (0.05 M, pH 7.6) for 5 min, and incubated with agitation for 15 min at room temperature (RT) in Tris buffer with 5% (w/v) nonfat powdered milk (Blotto buffer). Without washing, membrane strips were incubated overnight at 4C with a monoclonal primary antiserum against HSP70 (clone BRM-22; Sigma, St Louis, MO) diluted 1:5000 in Tris buffer. This antibody recognizes both constitutive and inducible HSP70 forms. After three 5-min washes with agitation (once in Blotto buffer and twice in Tris buffer), strips were incubated in peroxidase-conjugated goat anti-mouse IgG (Sigma) diluted 1:600 for 1 hr at RT. Strips were then rinsed once in Blotto buffer and twice in Tris buffer. The peroxidase reaction was carried out in a solution of 0.05 M Tris buffer containing 0.1% 3,3-diaminobenzidine (Sigma) and 0.05% H2O2. Control strips were used to test antibody specificity, one with plasma proteins and another in the absence of primary serum. These control strips showed no immunoreactive product. A videodensitometric procedure (Microm; Barcelona, Spain) was used for quantification of immunoblotting immunoreactivity. Data are expressed as the mean ± SEM (n=4, in duplicate).
Immunohistochemistry
Immunoelectron Microscopy
Statistical Analysis
The postnatal time course of the level of HSP70 constitutively expressed (basal expression level) in different cerebral areas and the spinal cord of normal rats, analyzed by Western blotting, is shown in Fig 1 and Fig 2. Because no sexual dimorphism was observed in most areas analyzed, data from male and female rats were pooled. However, the hypothalamus showed sexual differences in HSP70 level, and therefore data from males and females were considered separately. Using a multiple-range test, it was possible to make a homogeneous group with the lowest HSP70 levels in each CNS area. We took the 95% CI for the mean of this group as the range of baseline HSP70 level. Baseline HSP70 level was reached in cerebral cortex, cerebellum, and hippocampus between 2 and 4 months, in the spinal cord between 1 and 2 months, and in the hypothalamus between 1 and 2 months for females and between 4 and 8 months for males. The baseline level of HSP70 constitutively expressed was similar in all the areas studied except in female hypothalamus and spinal cord, which had a higher baseline HSP70 level. The highest constitutive HSP70 level was consistently found at 7 days, except in the male hypothalamus, where it was reached at 21 days. No significant differences were observed between adult and aged rats, although a slight increase in aged (2-year-old) animals compared with adult animals was observed in some cerebral areas (cerebral cortex, hippocampus, and cerebellum).
During the first 3 weeks of postnatal development, HSP70 immunoreactivity was distributed throughout all CNS sections analyzed and no specific cells could be clearly determined. Later, from the age of 2 months on, a general loss of immunoreactivity was observed (Fig 3I and Fig 3J). However, some specific types of neural cells showed strong immunoreactivity: Purkinje neurons (Fig 3A), motor neurons in the spinal cord (Fig 3B) and mesencephalon (Fig 3C), some astrocytes, especially subpial or perivascular astrocytes (Fig 3D and Fig 3E), and ependymocytes (Fig 3F and Fig 3G). Some glial cells in the white matter and the axons of small myelinated fibers also showed intense immunostaining. Some glial cells had strong nuclear immunoreactivity, particularly in 2-month-old animals (Fig 3H).
Neurons and astrocytes (Fig 4A) were the most prominently immunostained cells, with immunoreactivity usually distributed throughout the cell cytoplasm, sometimes forming a perinuclear rim. Ependymocytes also showed strong immunostaining, whereas oligodendrocytes and endothelial cells (Fig 4B) were poorly immunolabeled. No immunostaining was detected in microglial cells. In both neurons and astrocytes under electron microscopy, peroxidase reaction products were especially abundant on the external surface of mitochondria (Fig 4D and Fig 4E), rough endoplasmic reticulum (Fig 4B), microtubules (Fig 4C), external membrane of the nucleus (Fig 4A), and dispersed throughout the cytosol. Immunoprecipitation also was found in mitochondria and microtubules of some axons (Fig 4C) and synapses (Fig 4D and Fig 4E).
Postnatal Time Course of HSP70 Immunoreactivity
The level of constitutively expressed HSP70 was high in the first month of postnatal development, especially at the first week, and decreased slowly to reach baseline levels in adult animals. Abundant HSP70 protein has also been demonstrated throughout postnatal neural development (
Using the 95% LSD statistical method, we defined the baseline level of HSP70 constitutively expressed for each CNS region studied. The baseline HSP70 level in different areas of rat CNS observed in our study was comparable to that found in adult rabbit brain (
Considering that (a) normal rat CNS reaches the baseline level of HSP70 constitutively expressed between 2 and 4 months of postnatal development, and (b) the close correlation between the growth rate of body weight and CNS HSP70 level and (c) the function of HSP70 in protein synthesis, it is possible that the constitutive expression of HSP70 is determined mainly by the developmental growth of rat CNS under control (unstressed) conditions. HSP70 has been described as having a causal role in these developmental processes (
The postnatal time course of HSP70 level in different CNS areas varies with age. Cerebral cortex, cerebellum, hippocampus, and spinal cord showed similar patterns of HSP70 content, whereas the male hypothalamus showed a different pattern. The baseline level of constitutively expressed HSP70 was higher in the female than in the male hypothalamus. This could be attributable to the effect of sex hormones because males and females differ in the regulation of HSP70 expression in the hypothalamus (
Different studies have analyzed the possible correlation between developmental patterns of HSP and HSF levels in recent years (
HSP70-immunopositive Cells
In vivo studies have demonstrated that constitutive expression of HSP70 is mainly neuronal and is particularly located in large neurons (
HSP70-immunopositive Subcellular Structures
HSP70 acts as a molecular chaperone, assisting in protein synthesis and protein translocation across membranes. This function could explain its presence in mitochondria, rough endoplasmic reticulum, and the nuclear periphery. Perinuclear accumulation has been described previously and associated with cytoplasmic ribosomes (
The synaptic location of HSP70 has been demonstrated in the brain under control conditions (
Supported by in part DGICYT grant PB94-0366-C02-01. Thanks to Angel Blasco (Departamento de Matemáticas) and Antonio Priego (Servicio de Microscopía Electrónica) for their help in the statistical analysis and electron microscopy. We also thank Dr Julio Pérez for discussion and critical comments. Received for publication October 16, 2001; accepted March 13, 2002.
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