HSF1 activation

HSF1 activation Heat shock factor 1 (HSF1) is a transcription factor that activates gene expression in response to a variety of stresses, including heat shock, oxidative stress, as well as inflammation and infection (Shamovsky I and Nudler E 2008; Akerfelt et al. 2010; Bjork and Sistonen 2010; Anckar and Sistonen 2011).HSF1 is constitutively present in the cell. In the absence of stress HSF1 is found in both the cytoplasm and the nucleus as an inactive monomer (Sarge KD et al. 1993; Mercier PA et al. 1999; Vujanac M et al. 2005). A physical or chemical proteotoxic stress rapidly induces HSF1 activation, which occurs through a multi?step process, involving HSF1 monomer-to-homotrimer transition, nuclear accumulation, and binding to a promoter element, called the heat shock element (HSE), which leads to the increase in the stress-inducible gene expression (Sarge KD et al. 1993; Baler R et al. 1998; Sonna LA et al. 2002; Shamovsky I and Nudler E 2008; Sakurai H and Enoki Y 2010; Herbomel G et al. 2013). Depending on the type of stress stimulus, the multiple events associated with HSF1 activation might be affected differently (Holmberg CI et al 2000; Bjork and Sistonen 2010).