Pathophysiological stimuli, including hypoxia, lead to K(+) efflux from the intracellular lumen to the extracellular space, thereby increasing local tissue K(+) concentrations and depolarizing resident cells. In this study, we investigated the effects of increased extracellular K(+) concentrations ([K(+)](e)) on heat shock protein (HSP) expression in the porcine proximal tubule epithelial cell line LLC-PK(1). We analyzed HSP-25, HSP-72, HSC-73, and HSP-90 protein expression by Western blot analyses and HSP-72 promoter activity by luciferase reporter gene assays using the proximal 1,440 bp of the HSP-72 promoter. Elevating [K(+)](e) from 20 to 50 mM increased HSP-72 protein expression and promoter activity but did not affect HSP-25, HSC-73, or HSP-90 levels. Addition of identical concentrations of sodium chloride did not increase HSP-72 expression to a similar amount. The Ca(2+) channel blocker diltiazem and the Ca(2+)-specific chelator EGTA-AM abolished high [K(+)](e)-induced HSP-72 expression by 69.7 and 75.2%, respectively, indicating that the transcriptional induction of HSP-72 involves Ca(2+) influx. As measured by confocal microscopy using the Ca(2+) dye fluo 3-AM, we also observed a rapid increase of intracellular Ca(2+) concentration as early as 30 s after placing LLC-PK(1) cells in high [K(+)](e). We further analyzed whether Ca(2+) influx was necessary for induction of HSP-72 expression by high [K(+)](e) using Ca(2+)-free medium. Here, induction of HSP-72 in response to high [K(+)](e) was completely abolished. Our data thus demonstrate activation of a protective cellular response to ionic stress, e.g., elevated K(+) concentrations, by specifically increasing protein levels of HSP-72.