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Preadaptation of cultured HT22 mouse hippocampal neurons to oxidative stress prevented cell damage induced by severe oxidative stress. This protection manifested in a decrease in metabolic disturbances in neurons. Adaptation of neurons to oxidative stress was accompanied by accumulation of HSP32 and HSP70. HSP synthesis inhibitor quercetin abolished the protective effect of adaptation under conditions of oxidative stress. Activation of HSP70 synthesis in neurons is an important mechanism for adaptive protection of cells.

Dosed adaptation to environmental factors is an efficient non-drug means for increasing the resistance of organs or the body as a whole. We demonstrated earlier that nitric oxide (NO) plays an important role in adaptive defense of the organism, in particular due to activation of heat shock protein (HSP) synthesis. A key question remained open--to what extent the formation of adaptive defense depends on central mechanisms and to what extent on the intracellular mechanisms immediately responding to the adapting factor, and whether the NO-dependent activation of HSP synthesis plays a role in adaptation of isolated cells. In the present study we looked into the possibility of producing a protective effect of adaptation to heat in cell culture. A 6-day adaptation to heat limited to 17% the decrease in metabolic activity induced by heat shock in H9c2 cardiomyoblasts. The development of adaptation was associated with increased NO production. Treatment of cells with the inhibitor of NO synthase L-NNA (100 micro M) prevented the development of adaptive protection. Adaptation of cell culture enhanced synthesis of HSP70 but not HSP27. Blockade of HSP70 synthesis with quercetin (50 micro M) left unchanged the protective effect of adaptation. Inhibition of NO synthesis restricted the adaptation-induced HSP70 synthesis. Therefore, the formation of adaptation at the cell level may result from a direct action of an environmental factor without participation of neuro-humoral factors. Such adaptation involves NO-dependent mechanisms divorced from the activation of HSP70 synthesis.

In this work, we evaluated the effect of adaptation to heat on the fall of blood pressure (BP) induced by heat shock (HS) and the interrelation between nitric oxide (NO) and heat shock protein, HSP70. Experiments were carried out on Wistar rats. It was shown that HS resulted in a generalized and transient increase in NO production (the electron paramagnetic resonance method) and a fall of BP from 113+/-3 to 88+/-1 mm Hg (p<0.05). Adaptation to heat itself did not affect BP, but completely prevented the NO overproduction and hypotension induced by HS. The adaptation simultaneously increased the brain NO-synthase content and induced HSP70 synthesis (the Western blot analysis) in various organs. Both the antihypotensive effects of adaptation and HSP70 accumulation were completely prevented by L-NNA, an inhibitor of NO synthesis, or quercetin, an inhibitor of HSP70 synthesis. The data suggest that adaptation to heat stimulates NO synthesis and NO activates synthesis of HSP70. HSP70, which hampers NO overproduction, thus restricts the BP fall induced by heat shock.