Heat shock factor 1 regulates hsa-miR-432 expression in human cervical cancer cell line

•Heat shock alters expression of some miRNAs in HeLa cells.•Putative HSEs are present in upstream sequence of thermally altered miRNAs.•Heat shock increases occupancy of HSF1 in hsa-miR-432 upstream sequence.•Ectopic expression of HSF1 increases hsa-miR-432 expression.•Knockdown of HSF1 inhibits heat shock-driven upregulation of hsa-miR-432 expression.

Heat shock response pathway is a conserved defense mechanism of mammalian cells to maintain protein homeostasis against proteotoxic environmental conditions. This is characterized by robust synthesis of molecular chaperones mostly by stress-induced activation of heat shock factor 1 (HSF1). MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a family of small non-coding RNAs that negatively regulate expression of protein-coding genes. Here we report altered expression of a set of miRNAs by thermal stress in HeLa cells. We also show that HSF1 regulates hsa-miR-432 expression in heat shock-dependent manner through its cognate binding site present in hsa-miR-432 upstream sequence. Our report uncovers a novel function of HSF1 and indicates involvement of miRNAs in HSF1-mediated protection of cellular proteome.