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Brief mild hyperthermia is sufficient to induce apoptosis (programmed cell death) in many cell lines. Here we describe the effects of a number of factors modulating heat shock induced apoptosis outcomes. We report the effects of cell type, heat load, recovery times, cellular growth phase, and protein synthesis on the levels of apoptoses seen in heat stressed cell populations. We observe that a number of cell lines are competent to undergo heat stress induced apoptosis using both the comet assay and cellular and nuclear morphologies. Of the cell lines tested we saw a wide spectrum of sensitivities, ranging from resistant (less than 1% apoptotic after 12 h) to exquisitely sensitive (>95%). By incrementally increasing the heat load from 37-49 degrees C, we observed a gradual increase in apoptosis with a significant change from apoptotic to necrotic death at temperatures beyond 45 degrees C. The kinetics of the apoptotic response to heat shock were also examined. A time dependent increase in apoptotic cell death was seen after initial hyperthermic treatment with most cell types reaching a 'plateau' at 18 h. In addition to these parameters we report that growth phase has a strong influence on the number of apoptoses induced as a result of heat stress. Cultured cells, grown to a plateau, undergo apoptosis at a much higher level than similarly treated cells taken during an exponential phase of growth. Finally, we determined the necessity of protein synthesis for apoptotic competency.

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