hsf-1 encodes the C. elegans heat-shock transcription factor ortholog; HSF-1 functions as a transcriptional regulator of stress-induced gene expression whose activity is required for heat-shock and proteotoxicity response, larval development, innate immunity, and regulation of adult lifespan; HSF-1 binds bovine calmodulin in vitro in a calcium-dependent manner.
Enables several functions, including calmodulin binding activity; identical protein binding activity; and promoter-specific chromatin binding activity. Involved in several processes, including ascaroside biosynthetic process; defense response to other organism; and positive regulation of metabolic process. Located in cytoplasm; nuclear body; and nuclear stress granule. Part of chromatin. Expressed in several structures, including germ cell; hypodermis; intestine; neurons; and somatic cell. Human ortholog(s) of this gene implicated in Huntington's disease and cataract 5 multiple types. Is an ortholog of human HSF1 (heat shock transcription factor 1) and HSF2 (heat shock transcription factor 2).
Inferred by orthology to human genes with DO annotation (HGNC:5227)
Disease_relevance
C. elegans is an effective model system to study heat-related pathologies like heat stroke; in elegans, a small heat shock protein (sHSP), HSP-16.1 has a protective effect against heat-induced necrosis; HSP-16.1 localizes to the golgi and functions together with the PMR-1/PMR1 Ca2+ and Mn2+ transporting ATPase, and NUCB-1/Nucleobindin1, a golgi-located calcium-buffering protein, to maintain calcium homeostasis, under heat stroke; overexpresiion of pmr-1/PMR1 is sufficient to promote survival after heat stroke, bypassing both HSF-1 and HSP-16.1, indicating that PMR-1/PMR1 functions downstream of both these genes.