Abstract. We have used mitogenic lectin (PHA) and a monoclonal antibody (OKT3) to stimulate human peripheral blood (Go) lymphocytes, in the presence of monocytes, and have found two major preferentially synthesized proteins, 73 and 95 kD, which are induced by the mitogens. The elevated synthesis of both proteins begins ,x,4-6 h after mitogen addition (early to mid G0/G1) before entry into first S phase. Maximum synthesis of both proteins is reached by 12 h after mitogen addition when P95 synthesis represents "~4%, and P73 '~2%, of the total protein synthesis, compared with less than 0.5 % for each protein in cells cultured without mitogen. Thus, the proteins appear to be major components of activated cells. We find that both P73 and P95 are induced by heat stress as well as mitogenic stimulation. The induction of the proteins is not affected by either deleting glucose from the culture media or, alternatively, by supplementing it. Using polyclonal antibodies prepared to each of the proteins isolated from mitogen activated cells and monoclonal antibodies that were raised to heat shock proteins, we are able to show that P95 is electrophoretically and immunologically identical to the HSP 90 induced by heat stress. P73 is one of the 70 kD HSPs, Lymphocytes in the peripheral circulation are, for the most part, in a true (naturally occurring) Go state. The biochemistry of activation after in vitro stimulation of these quiescent cells has been extensively investigated. Mitogen induces departure from Go and transition through G1, a 26-30-h period that is termed the lag phase, before DNA synthesis begins (10). Many of the initial stimulatory events at the cell surface in terms of mitogen binding and subsequent secondary messenger involvement are fairly well understood (47). It is known that during the lag phase, extracellular signals such as mitogens, growth factors and interleukins (9, 44) induce sequential gene expression (15, 35) culminating in DNA synthesis and cell division. The function and identity of many of the gene products appearing in the lag phase are not known. However, it is reasonable to propose that proteins induced by the stimulatory signals in lag phase play an essential role in the onset of DNA synthesis and mitosis (8,11,21). In this paper we present evidence that induction of synthesis of two heat-shock proteins, HSP 90 and HSC 70, occurs in 9 The Rockefeller University Press,