Immunofluorescence localization of a small heat shock protein (hsp 23) in salivary gland cells of Drosophila melanogaster.

An aggregate present in cell-free extracts of Drosophila melanogaster tissue culture cells, sedimenting at 20 to 30S, contains hsps 23, 26 and 27. Hsp 23 was purified from this aggregate and a monospecific antibody was raised against it. Immunofluorescence microscopy showed the presence of hsp 23 preferentially in nuclei after heat shock, while on return to 25 degrees C, hsp 23 was reduced in nuclei and increased in the cytoplasm. Thus the immunofluorescence observations reported here unambiguously confirm for hsp 23 earlier reports that heat shock proteins are mainly found in nuclei after heat shock and that upon return to 25 degrees C, they move to the cytoplasm.