Sub-lethal heat shock induces plasma membrane translocation of 70-kDa heat shock protein in viable, but not in apoptotic, U-937 leukaemia cells.

Heat shock protein 70 kDa, Hsp70, is an important intracellular factor that protects cells from stress. Unusual plasma membrane expression of Hsp70, observed in some cancer cells, contributes to the cell's recognition and elimination by the immune system. Induction of apoptosis in cancer cells was demonstrated to increase Hsp70 translocation to the surface membrane, enhancing immunogenic effects through the stimulation of dendritic cells. As hyperthermia is proposed as a method of choice for anti-cancer therapy, we examined whether apoptosis induction by heat shock enhances Hsp70 membrane translocation in U-937 leukaemia cells. Cells were exposed to sub-lethal heat shock, and intracellular and membrane-bound Hsp70 expression was evaluated in apoptotic and viable cell sub-populations, employing flow cytometry and immunofluorescence. Heat shock induced Hsp70 membrane translocation in the viable cells that were able to enhance Hsp70 production upon heating, but not in the cells undergoing apoptosis that continued to express low basal levels of the intracellular protein. Data suggest that the protein translocation was associated with the increasing Hsp70 content rather than the apoptotic process. Apoptosis does not contribute to externalization of Hsp70, at least in the cells with low levels of this protein.