Transcriptome Analysis of the Cellular Heat Shock Response

Abstract

The heat shock response (HSR) is a highly conserved molecular mechanism, centered on heat shock transcription factors (HSFs) and heat shock proteins (HSPs), that plays a critical role in cell survival. In cells exposed to hyperthermia (HT), not only the induction of HSPs-primarily through HSF1 activation-but also protein aggregation, DNA damage, and alterations in gene expression occur. Transcriptome analysis provides a comprehensive means of capturing global gene expression profiles, and numerous studies have applied this approach to elucidate the complexity of the HSR. In this review, we summarize key findings from transcriptome-based studies on the HSR. Furthermore, using our recent transcriptome analyses of normal and cancer cells subjected to mild HT as an example, we discuss the extent to which the HSR can be understood from the perspective of gene expression.