Dissociation of HSP70 and HSC70 heat shock mRNA inductions as an early biochemical marker of ischemic neuronal death

A significant dissociation of HSP70 and HSC70 heat shock mRNAs after a 10-min transient forebrain ischemia in gerbil was found only in the hippocampal CA1 neurons which eventually die after the initial ischemic insult, while other hippocampal neurons such as the dentate granule and the CA3 cells which survive ischemia expressed both mRNAs cooperatively. The dissociation was observed as early as after 8 h of reperfusion, a period far shorter than 3-4 days, when the cell death becomes pathologically evident. Thus, the dissociation may serve as a set of early biochemical markers for ischemic neuronal cell death.