High expression of the heat shock cognate 70 gene in a cervical cancer cell line

Objectives: In this study, we investigated the expression of the heat shock cognate 70 gene (HSC70) in tumour cell lines and immortalised benign cell lines. Materials and Methods: Ten cell lines derived from breast cancer, colorectal cancer, melanoma, fibrosarcoma and cervical cancer, and three immortalised benign cell lines were used. RNA was extracted with standard procedures and Northern blots were probed with an HSC70 cDNA fragment. The density of the signal was measured and calibrated against that of the respective 18S ribosome. Results: The level of HSC70 expressed in MCF7 breast cancer cells was the lowest among all cell lines. The expression level of HSC70 in HeLa cells was the highest and about 5.9 fold of that in MCF7. HSC70 levels expressed in other cell lines were about 1-3 fold of that in MCF7. Conclusion: A high level of HSC70 was expressed in HeLa cervical cancer cells. The biological significance of this requires further investigation.