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Abstract

Front cover Heat shock factor 1 (HSF1) is a master stress-responsive transcriptional factor, but its gene regulation in the brain remains elusive. This article firstly demonstrated that HSF1 was activated by neuronal stress in the hippocampus and bound to the gene promoters of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). Different types of acute stress to animals produced different patterns of HSF1 biding to Bdnf promoters, while pCREB bound proximately to the HSF1 binding sites. HSF1 binding to Bdnf promoters was sufficient to induce the transcription. These results suggest the role of HSF1 gene regulation in stress-induced neuronal protection and plasticity in the hippocampus, together with pCREB. Image content Confocal image showing stress-induced nuclear localization of heat shock factor 1 (HSF1) in the hippocampal CA1 neurons. Immunohistochemistry was conducted 1 hour after kainic acid stress treatment, detecting HSF1 (red), nuclei (DAPI, blue), and neurons (NeuN, green). Note the co-staining of HSF1 in the nuclei of CA1 neurons, which appears purple to white. Read the full article ‘Heat shock factor HSF1 regulates BDNF gene promoters upon acute stress in the hippocampus, together with pCREB’ by H. Franks, R. Wang, M. Li, B. Wang, A. Wildmann, T. Ortyl, S. O'Brien, D. Young, F.-F. Liao, K. Sakata, (J. Neurochem. 2023, vol. 165 (2), pp. 131–148) on doi:10.1111/jnc.15707