This research on the heat shock response in cultured avian cells will determine how heat shock proteins enable cells to survive stress damage. Antibodies raised against purified preparations of three chicken heat shock proteins have helped to identify several properties of closely-related, "cognate" proteins which are normally found in cells. From a cDNA library selected for heat shock mRNA expression, ubiquitin was identified as a heat shock protein and one of the chicken ubiquitin genes was sequenced. More recently, changes in ubiquitin metabolism during heat shock and chemical stress were described and studies on the biosynthesis of ubiquitin will be continued as part of the research program. Cells in virtually all organisms are protected from damage and death arising from environmental stresses such as heat shock, strong oxidants and heavy metals by a small number of very highly conserved proteins. Genes encoding these proteins are selectively activated immediately upon exposure to stress by regulatory elements which appear to be similar in widely divergent organisms--from yeast to human. This research focuses on the heat shock protein ubiquitin. This research will provide a better understanding of how this heat shock protein protects cells from damage and helps restore them to their normal physiological state after the stress.
