Clifford Shull (Schalley), Andrew W.

genus. November 30, 1926
American biochemist Andrew Victor Schally was born in Vilna (currently - Vilnius, Lithuania), in the family of military Casimir Peter and Maria Schally Schally (Dhaka). When the Second World War, Father Z. was drafted into the army of allied forces. 'In my life and my outlook was influenced by severe childhood spent in Nazi-occupied Eastern Europe', - later recalled W. Leaving Romania, W. escaped the fate of Polish Jews were exterminated by the Nazis. In 1945, Mr.. through Italy and France, he emigrated to Scotland. Here in the following year he received a diploma school of Allen Bridge. From 1946 to 1950 g. SH. studied biochemistry at the University of London, and during the next two years he worked as a research assistant at London's National Institute for Medical Research. Here he acquired the skills and experience in laboratory research and experimental techniques and an interest in medical science.
In 1952, Mr.. SH. He emigrated to Montreal and entered McGill University to study endocrinology led D.L. Thomson and conduct research in the laboratory of experimental therapy Allenovskogo Institute of Psychiatry. Endocrinology - is the section of biology and medicine, . studying the structure, . function, . as well as diseases of the endocrine glands, . which, . particularly, . include pituitary, . thyroid, . adrenal, . endocrine departments of the pancreas, . sex glands, etc.,
. These glands produce hormones - biologically active substances circulating in the blood and regulating the function of internal organs. During the first two years of work in Montreal W. investigated the adrenal and pituitary. Pituitary allocates adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH), which in turn, entered the blood, regulates the synthesis and release of adrenal cortisol and cortisone - hormones involved, in particular, in the body's response to stress. Together with colleagues from McGill University W. developed a pilot test system - bioassay technique to measure the secretion of ACTH cells of pituitary
Soon W. interested in the new hormones, which are thought to stand in the hypothalamus and are involved in the regulation of secretory activity of pituitary. The hypothalamus is located near the base of the brain above the pituitary gland and is linked to its share of front gossamer portal blood vessels. In 30-ies. English physiologist J. Harris made the section is the portal vessels and found that this reduced secretion of pituitary. Harris suggested that the activity. pituitary is regulated by blood-borne chemicals - hormones, allocated hypothalamus. SH. was the first to identify these hypothalamic hormones.
In 1955, Mr.. SH. found that extracts of hypothalamic tissue, studied with the help of its experimental test system, causing the release of ACTH from pituitary cells. This was the first direct experimental evidence that the hypothalamus regulates the pituitary. SH. call them unidentified hypothalamic hormone corticotropin-releasing factor (KRB). Currently, he is called corticotropin-releasing-hormone (CRH). The results of this work he defended his doctoral dissertation in 1957. received his doctorate from McGill University.
In the same year, W. became an assistant professor of physiology at Baylor University School of Medicine in Houston (Texas). Here, along with Roger Giymenom he began working on the study of the chemical structure of KRB. Turned out, however, that the structure of this substance - a peptide consisting of 41 amino acids - is fairly complex, it was discovered only in 1981
. After the first attempts to determine the chemical structure of KRB were unsuccessful, many scientists working in the same area, were skeptical of research W
. and Guillemin. However W. and Guillemin.
working independently of each other and constantly competing, engaged other hypothalamic hormones.
In 1962. SH. took American citizenship and agreed to a proposal by the head of research Veterans Administration, Joseph Meyer, a director of the newly established Laboratory of Endocrinology and polypeptides in the Veterans Administration Hospital in New Orleans (Louisiana),
. In addition, he was appointed Assistant Professor of Medicine University Medical School Tyuleyna, and in 1966. became a professor of medicine at the University.
And S., and Guillemin for many years experienced major organizational difficulties. In order to obtain adequate for the study of hormones of the hypothalamic tissue, it was necessary to process hundreds of thousands of preparations of the hypothalamus, taken from the animals. The researchers took the brain of animals in slaughterhouses. After the animals were killed, brain tissue and hypothalamus had very quickly learned, t. to. otherwise the hypothalamic hormones decayed. Then the fabric of the hypothalamus was studied in the laboratory.
In 1966, Mr.. Group W. was isolated hypothalamic hormone that causes the release of pituitary thyrotropin (the latter in turn activates the production of thyroid hormones). SH. named this new hypothalamic hormone thyrotropin-releasing factor (TRF). Currently it is called the thyrotropin-releasing-hormone (TRH). Initially W. with their staff could not determine the chemical structure of TRF. However, in 1969. they found that TRF is a peptide of three amino acids. In the same year, the structure of TRF was deciphered by a group Guillemin in Houston. SH. and his Mexican colleagues, clinicians have found that the TRF stimulates the production of human pituitary thyrotropin. Currently, TRF (TRH) is used to diagnose and treat certain diseases related to hormone deficiency.
In the late 60-ies. SH. and his colleagues have hypothalamic hormone that regulates the pituitary gonadotropins - hormones, leading to the release from the ovaries and testes, respectively, male and female sex hormones. At present, this factor is called the hypothalamic gonadotropin-releasing-hormone (GRG). Its chemical structure was established by a group Z. in 1971. It turned out that GRG is a peptide of 10 amino acids. SH. and his colleagues from Mexico found that the GRG is the allocation of pituitary gonadotropins in man. Currently, several chemical analogues synthesized GRG. Some of these analogs stimulates secretion of pituitary gonadotropins and are used to treat certain forms of infertility, while others, on the contrary, retard their release and may be effective contraceptives. Clinical application of analogues GRG evoked W. interest.
W. and his colleagues have also worked to release somatotropin-releasing factor (SRF). SH. published data on the chemical structure of this factor in 1971, but it turned out that in fact he is not identified SRF as part of one of the proteins of red blood cells. In 1976. SH. established the chemical structure factor which retards the release of growth hormone in pigs. During the three years before this group Guillemin identified this factor in sheep and deciphered its structure. Guillemin called him somatostatin. Studies W. and other scientists have shown that somatostatin has on the body a variety of effects. Some of its analogs may be useful for the treatment of diabetes, peptic ulcer disease and acromegaly - a disease characterized by excess growth hormone.
In 1977. SH. and Giymenu was awarded half the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine "for discoveries concerning the development of peptide hormones by the brain '. Afternoon Rosaline Yalow was awarded for his work on radioimmunologii. In his Nobel lecture W. said: 'In the beginning of my scientific career reporting on the hypothalamic regulation of anterior pituitary nascent. I was lucky in the sense that I started to work in such a critical period, and helped lay a solid foundation of these ideas, on which they are built now. "
W. Margaret was married to Rachel White. After the divorce he had in 1974. married to Ana Maria de Meyeros-Komar, researcher in the field of endocrinology from Brazil.
W. won many awards and honorary degrees, in t.ch. Prize Charles Michael, University of Toronto, . international award Gardner Fund (1974), . Borden Award for Medical Research Association of American Medical Colleges and the Albert Lasker Award for basic medical research (1975),
. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA, the American Society of Biochemistry, American Physiological Society, American Association for the Advancement of Science and Society Endocrinology. He has honorary degrees from universities in Canada and other countries.