Genetic differences in heat-induced tolerance to cadmium in cultured mouse embryos are not correlated with changes in a 68-kD heat shock protein.

Heat-induced cross-tolerance to cadmium was investigated in two inbred strains of mice, BALB/c and SWV, using a whole embryo culture system. Embryos were exposed to a pretreatment of 5 min at 43 degrees C and subsequently to an embryotoxic concentration of cadmium, 1.75 microM. The two types of embryos responded differently to the heat pretreatment, as cross-tolerance was induced in SWV but not in BALB/c mice. In SWV embryos, prior exposure to 43 degrees C for 5 min essentially eliminated the negative effects of cadmium on embryonic development and growth. However, in BALB/c embryos, no protection was observed. The variation in development of cross-tolerance in embryos from the two strains of mice was not correlated with differences in the induction of a 68-kD heat-shock protein (hsp68). There was a rapid increase in this protein in both strains after the initial heat exposure but not excess induction in the SWV strain that developed tolerance. The induction of hsp68 is therefore not sufficient to elicit cross-tolerance, and other mechanisms are likely to be important in the protective response of the embryo.