Developmental control of heat shock and chaperone gene expression - Hsp70 genes and heat shock factors during preimplantation phase of mouse development

Heat shock genes are found in all organisms, and synthesis of heat shack proteins is induced by various stressors in nearly all the cells forming these organisms. However, a particular situation is noticed for hsp70 genes in mouse embryos at the beginning of their development. First, spontaneous expression of hsp70 is observed at the onset of zygotic genome activity. Second, inducible expression is delayed until morula or early blastocyst stages. a better understanding of both these points depends on a more careful analysis of hsp70 expression in relation to their major regulators, the heat shock factors. In this review, we will see how the development of the preimplantation embryo highlights the complexity of heat shock gene regulation involving trans-cis interactions and the cellular and nuclear environment.