Head-down tilt increases rat cardiac muscle eif-2a phosphorylation . Menon, Vandana, and Donald B. Thomason. Department of Physiology and Biophysics, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis
APStracts 2:0239C, 1995.
We previously demonstrated that head-down tilt in rats decreases heart polypeptide initiation rate and proposed a mechanism whereby redistribution of the chaperone heat-shock protein 70 (HSC/HSP 70) facilitates the phosphorylation of initiation factor 2a (eIF-2a). In this study, two dimensional gel electrophoretic analysis of eIF-2a showed no phosphorylation in control hearts. At 8h of head-down tilt there was a 45% increase in total eIF-2a; 79% was phosphorylated. At 18h eIF-2a increased to 142% of control, of which 4% was phosphorylated. This is consistent with the previous study where at 8h there was a 78% increase in polysomal HSC/HSP 70 and a shift in the polysome center-of-mass to lighter polysomes (indicating decreased initiation). After 18h of suspension, polysomal HSC/HSP 70 levels were 24% relative to control and the center-of-mass returned toward control. We conclude that the decrease in polypeptide initiation during head-down tilt is mediated by HSC/HSP 70 via phosphorylation of eIF-2a.

Received 12 May 1995; accepted in final form 28 June 1995.
APS Manuscript Number C266-5.
Article publication pending Am. J. Physiol. (Cell Physiology).
ISSN 1080-4757 Copyright 1995 The American Physiological Society.
Published in APStracts on 11 July 1995.