Heat-shock response in camel (Camelus dromedarius) blood cells and adaptation to hyperthermia.

1. We demonstrate the difference between the reactions of camel (Camelus dromedarius) lymphocytes and erythrocytes to heat-shock treatment. 2. Lymphocytes of this organism characteristically have a higher resistance of general protein synthesis to elevated temperature in comparison with human lymphocytes. 3. Camel lymphocytes exhibited strong induction of constitutively expressed 73 kDa heat-shock protein (hsp 73) after heat-shock but failed to synthesize an inducible member of the same family (hsp 72) at high temperatures. 4. Nucleated camel erythrocytes do not synthesize any heat-shock proteins after temperature elevation. 5. Western blot analysis, using polyclonal antibody for hsp 73, revealed high levels of this protein in camel lymphocytes and diminished, but significant, amounts of hsp 73 protein in the erythrocytes under normal physiological conditions. 6. The role of 73 kDa hsp in providing thermotolerance of camel blood cells is discussed.