Induction of heat shock hsp70 mRNA and HSP70 kDa protein in neurons in the ‘penumbra’ following focal cerebral ischemia in the rat

Induction of hsp70 heat shock protein (HSP70) and hsp70 mRNA was examined using adjacent sections in the same rat brain following permanent middle cerebral artery (MCA) occlusions. hsp70 mRNA was induced within 4 h of MCA occlusion and persisted for at least 24 h. Cellular resolution autoradiographs suggested that hsp70 mRNA was induced primarily in neurons in the periphery of ischemia both outside and inside of the infarction, with small amounts of hsp70 mRNA being induced in the core of the infarction. HSP70 protein was localized in neurons outside the infarction and in endothelial cells within the infarction at 24 h but not at 4 h following permanent MCA occlusions. It is proposed that the penumbra, one of the areas that can be rescued by pharmacological agents, can be defined anatomically as the volume of tissue outside the area of infarction in which HSP70 protein is expressed primarily in neurons.