The effects of glucose on protein synthesis and thermosensitivity in Chinese hamster ovary cells.

Glucose deprivation induces the major glucose regulated proteins (GRPs) in Chinese hamster ovary cells. When these cells are then returned to a glucose containing environment, GRP synthesis is repressed while concurrently other proteins, identified as heat shock proteins, are induced. The induction of the GRPs is found to mark precisely the onset of a decline in the cell's ability to survive a thermal stress while the expression of heat shock proteins, when glucose is restored, is paralleled by significant increases in survival protection or thermotolerance.