Description
4-Hydroxynonenal (HNE), a cytotoxic and diffusible electrophile generated by the spontaneous decomposition of oxidized lipids, has a suspected role in neurodegenerative and inflammatory disease processes. In addition to promoting cell death, elevated levels of HNE lead to the engagement of cytoprotective signaling pathways, including the heat shock, antioxidant, DNA damage, and ER stress responses. Activation of the heat shock response, mediated by the transcription factor heat shock factor 1 (HSF1), is critical for maintaining cellular viability in the presence of HNE. Accordingly, silencing HSF1 expression using siRNA enhances the toxicity of HNE. Microarray analysis of samples from control and HSF1-silenced cells was performed to investigate which associated changes in gene could be responsible for the decrease in cellular viability.