The possible role of the superoxide ion in the induction of heat-shock and specific proteins in aerobic Drosophila cells during return to normoxia after a period of anaerobiosis

Abstract

In vitro cultured D. melanogaster cells were aerobic and several kinetic parameters of their respiration were measured. This allowed the definition of experimental conditions for a transient period of anaerobiosis followed by a reexposure to normal oxygenation. This treatment, applied without any change of temperature, induced not only the heat-shock proteins, but also a new specific peptide of 27,000 daltons and a 2-fold increase of the maximal rate of O2 uptake. This evokes a common molecular mechanism activated either by heat or by O2, which could involve the increase of the products of O reduction such as the superoxide ion.