BLOCH (Bloch), Conrad

genus. January 21, 1912
German-American biochemist Konrad Emil Bloch was born in Neisse, Germany (now Nysa, Poland). His parents were Fritz Bloch and Bloch Hedwig (Shtrimer). After the local high school, B. in 1930. enrolled at the Technical University in Munich. There he studied chemistry under the leadership of Hans Fischer and attended lectures by Adolf Windaus and Heinrich Wieland in Munich Chemical Society.
In 1934, Mr.. B. received at the Technical University bachelor's degree in Applied Chemistry. This happened a year after Hitler became Chancellor of Germany, and therefore AB, being an ethnic Jew, moved to Switzerland and began working at the Swiss Research Institute in Davos. Here he studied the biochemistry of phospholipids tubercle bacillus - the causative agent of tuberculosis.
In 1936, Mr.. B. emigrated to the United States. With financial support from the Uollershteyna he was able to study in graduate school in Biochemistry, College of Physicians and Surgeons of Columbia University (New York). In 1938. He received his doctorate at this university and began working in the research group of the College of Physicians and Surgeons, led by Rudolf Shonheymerom. In the laboratory Shonheymera B. gained experience with the isotopes and, as he said afterwards, 'sustained interest in intermediate exchange and the problems biosynthesis'. Radioisotopes - these are radioactive forms of atoms, which in the experiment can be used to evaluate the selective accumulation of certain molecules in cells and organisms. Progress includes the exchange of biochemical breakdown of glucose molecules, and fats with the elaboration of cellular energy in the form of macroergastic (high energy) fosfatsoderzhaschih molecules of adenosine triphosphate (ATP), . providing power to other biochemical processes in cells.,
. After the death Shonheymera in 1941
. his staff, David Rittenberg and B. continued work on the biosynthesis of cholesterol. Cholesterol - a substance from the group of sterols, which consists of 27 carbon atoms, forming 4 rings, and the side chain of 8 carbon atoms,. Cholesterol is present in all animal cells and stabilizes the cell membrane structures, and serves as a precursor of steroid hormones and bile acids. Cholesterol comes from food, and synthesized by the liver and intestinal cells. In the plaques that form on the walls of blood vessels in such diseases of the cardiovascular system, as atherosclerosis, contains cholesterol deposits. With the help of acetic acid labeled with isotopes of hydrogen and carbon, B. Rittenberg and showed that the main element, which is formed from cholesterol, is the Acetate - a substance containing 2 carbon atoms.
In 1946, Mr.. B. became an assistant professor of biochemistry at the University of Chicago. In 1948, Mr.. He was promoted to associate professor and in 1950 - Professor of Biochemistry. At the University of Chicago, he continued his attempts to ascertain the origin of all carbon atoms that form the basis of cholesterol molecules. B. with his team worked with a mutant strain of fungus bread mold Neurospora crassa, which is necessary for the growth of an external source of acetate. By growing the fungus cultured in medium containing labeled with radioisotopes acetate, B. showed that all carbon atoms of cholesterol are formed from 2-atom molecules of acetate. Together with his team, he confirmed that the intermediate stages of acetate molecules are connected with the formation of squalene - 30-atom hydrocarbon substances. Next squalene into a cyclic compound Lanosterol (sterol contained in lanolin), and he in turn becomes a 27-atom molecule of cholesterol. Full conversion of acetate into cholesterol occurs in 36 separate stages.
In his other studies B. studied the biosynthesis of glutathione - tripeptide, which plays an important role in the metabolism of proteins. Tripeptide - a substance formed as a result of compound 3 amino acids and peptide group containing 3. Having worked for years in a researcher at the Institute of Organic Chemistry in Zurich, B. in 1954. was promoted to professor of biochemistry at the Department of Chemistry, Harvard University.
. Researcher at the University of Munich Feodor Lynen discovered that the chemically active form of acetate is atsetilkoenzim A (CoA - a heat resistant water-soluble portion of the enzyme required for its normal activity)
. B. and other scientists found that atsetilkoenzim And through a series of intermediate stages, resulting in an irreversible reaction, is transformed into mevalonic acid. Independently B. and Lynen showed that mevalonic acid becomes chemically active isoprene (hydrocarbon compound) from which the unsaturated hydrocarbon squalene and eventually cholesterol.
Prior studies B. and Linena was little known about the formation of cholesterol and fatty acids and their relationship. At the same time to build up a lot of assumptions about the relationship between atherosclerosis (a condition in which the walls of large and medium arteries of plaque formation of lipids and cholesterol) and cholesterol and other lipids in the diet and in blood. Portfolio B. and Linena revealed the role of acetate as a precursor of cholesterol and fatty acids. Importance was the discovery of B. the fact that cholesterol is an essential component of all body cells and the precursor of bile acids and one of the female sex hormones. As a result of these studies we now know that all steroidal substances produced in the body from cholesterol.
In 1964, Mr.. B. with Lynen were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine "for discoveries concerning the mechanism and regulation of cholesterol and fatty acids'. In his speech, a researcher at the Karolinska Institute Suna Bergetrem said: 'The value of work B. and Linena lies in the fact that we now know what the reaction should be explored in connection with congenital and other factors. It can be argued that future research in this area will develop individual treatment of diseases, officials main cause of mortality in developed countries'.
In 1941, Mr.. B. married to Laura Toych. In a family with two children.
B. Fritzsche was awarded the American Chemical Society (1964) and the prize for outstanding achievement Alumni Association of Medical University of Chicago (1964). He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences. American Academy of Arts and Sciences. American Chemical Society. American Biochemical Society and the American Philosophical Society.