Synthesis of a Stress Protein Following Transient Ischemia in the Gerbil

In vitro translation products of gerbil brain preparations, obtained from animals killed during recirculation following transient ischemia, showed increased synthesis of a 70-kilodalton stress protein, identified by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis. Stimulation of stress protein synthesis was evident as early as 2 h after recirculation, at which time overall translation activity remained low. Expression of the 70-kilodalton protein reached a maximum at 8 h recirculation, when incorporation into other translation products had returned to essentially control levels. Increased incorporation into the stress protein was still detectable after 24 h recirculation. Although the functional consequences of increased expression of this stress protein remain unknown, these results suggest that the gerbil ischemia model may provide a useful experimental system in which to study the involvement of this phenomenon in processes related to postischemic cell damage and recovery.