The heat shock response in HeLa cells is accompanied by elevated expression of the c-fos proto-oncogene.

Several known inducers of the heat shock response (heat stress, arsenite, and heavy metals) were shown to cause a significant elevation of c-fos mRNA in HeLa cells. Heat stress resulted in a time- and temperature-dependent prolonged elevation in the level of c-fos mRNA, which was accompanied by increased translation of c-fos protein and its appearance in the nucleus. Elevated expression of c-fos during heat stress was paralleled by induction of hsp 70 mRNA, while levels of c-myc and metallothionein mRNAs declined. Treatment of HeLa cells with arsenite or heavy metals also resulted in increased levels of hsp 70, as well as c-fos mRNA. Although elevated expression of c-fos was prevented by inhibitors of RNA synthesis, analysis of relative rates of gene transcription showed that during heat stress there was a negligible change in c-fos transcription. Therefore, the enhanced expression of c-fos during the heat shock response is likely to occur primarily through posttranscriptional processes. Cycloheximide was also shown to significantly increase the c-fos mRNA level in HeLa cells. There results are consistent with the observation that these inducers of the heat shock response, as well as cycloheximide, repress protein synthesis and suggest that the increase in the level of c-fos mRNA is caused by an inhibition of protein synthesis. This supports the hypothesis that c-fos mRNA is preferentially stabilized under conditions which induce the heat shock response, perhaps by decreased synthesis of a short-lived protein which regulates c-fos mRNA turnover.