Julius Axelrod | |
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| Born | (1912-05-30)May 30, 1912 New York City, U.S. |
| Died | December 29, 2004(2004-12-29) (aged 92) Bethesda, Maryland, U.S. |
| Education | City College of New York (BS) New York University (MS) George Washington University (PhD) |
| Known for | Catecholamine metabolism |
| Spouse | |
| Children | Two sons - Paul and Alfred |
| Awards | |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Biochemistry |
| Institutions | National Institutes of Health |
| Academic advisors | Bernard Brodie[citation needed] |
Julius Axelrod (May 30, 1912 – December 29, 2004)[1] was an Americanbiochemist. He won a share of theNobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1970 along withBernard Katz andUlf von Euler.[2][3][4][5] TheNobel Committee honored him for his work on the release and reuptake ofcatecholamineneurotransmitters, a class of chemicals in the brain that includeepinephrine,norepinephrine, and, as was later discovered,dopamine. Axelrod also made major contributions to theunderstanding of thepineal gland and how it is regulated during the sleep-wake cycle.[6][7][8]
Axelrod was born in New York City, the son ofJewish immigrants fromPoland, Molly (née Leichtling) and Isadore Axelrod, a basket weaver.[9] He received his bachelor's degree in biology from theCollege of the City of New York in 1933. Axelrod wanted to become a physician, but was rejected from everymedical school to which he applied. He worked briefly as a laboratory technician atNew York University, then in 1935 he got a job with theNew York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene testingvitamin supplements added to food. While working at the Department of Health, he attended night school and received his master's in sciences degree fromNew York University in 1941.
In 1946, Axelrod took a position working underBernard Brodie atGoldwater Memorial Hospital. The research experience and mentorship Axelrod received from Brodie would launch him on his research career. Brodie and Axelrod's research focused on howanalgesics (pain-killers) work. During the 1940s, users of non-aspirin analgesics were developing a blood condition known asmethemoglobinemia. Axelrod and Brodie discovered thatacetanilide, the main ingredient of these pain-killers, was to blame. They found that one of the metabolites also was an analgesic. They recommended that this metabolite,acetaminophen (paracetamol, Tylenol), be used instead.
In 1949, Axelrod began work at the National Heart Institute, forerunner of theNational Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), part of theNational Institutes of Health (NIH). He examined the mechanisms and effects ofcaffeine, which led him to an interest in thesympathetic nervous system and its main neurotransmitters, epinephrine and norepinephrine. During this time, Axelrod also conducted research oncodeine,morphine,methamphetamine, andephedrine and performed some of the first experiments onLSD. Realizing that he could not advance his career without a PhD, he took a leave of absence from the NIH in 1954 to attendGeorge Washington University Medical School. Allowed to submit some of his previous research toward his degree, he graduated one year later, in 1955. Axelrod then returned to the NIH and began some of the key research of his career.
Axelrod received his Nobel Prize for his work on the release, reuptake, and storage of the neurotransmittersepinephrine andnorepinephrine, also known as adrenaline and noradrenaline. Working onmonoamine oxidase (MAO) inhibitors in 1957, Axelrod showed that catecholamine neurotransmitters do not merely stop working after they are released into thesynapse. Instead, neurotransmitters are recaptured ("reuptake") by the pre-synaptic nerve ending, and recycled for later transmissions. He theorized that epinephrine is held in tissues in an inactive form and is liberated by the nervous system when needed. This research laid the groundwork for laterselective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), such asProzac, which block the reuptake of another neurotransmitter, serotonin.
In 1958, Axelrod also discovered and characterized the enzymecatechol-O-methyl transferase, which is involved in the breakdown of catecholamines.[10]
Some of Axelrod's later research focused on the pineal gland. He and his colleagues showed that the hormonemelatonin is generated fromtryptophan, as is the neurotransmitterserotonin. The rates of synthesis and release follows the body'scircadian rhythm driven by thesuprachiasmatic nucleus within thehypothalamus. Axelrod and colleagues went on to show that melatonin had wide-ranging effects throughout the central nervous system, allowing the pineal gland to function as a biological clock. He was elected a Fellow of theAmerican Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1971.[11] He continued to work at the National Institute of Mental Health at the NIH until his death in 2004.
Many of his papers and awards are held at theNational Library of Medicine.[12]
Axelrod was awarded theGairdner Foundation International Award in 1967 and theNobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1970. He was elected aForeign Member of the Royal Society (ForMemRS) in 1979.[1] In 1992, he was awarded theRalph W. Gerard Prize in Neuroscience. He was elected to theAmerican Philosophical Society in 1995.[13]
Solomon Snyder,Irwin Kopin, Ronald W. Holz,Rudi Schmid, Bruce R. Conklin, Ron M. Burch, Juan M. Saavedra,Marty Zatz, Richard M. Weinshilboum, Michael Brownstein,Chris Felder, Lewis Landsberg, Robert Kanterman,Richard J. Wurtman.[citation needed]
Axelrod injured his left eye when anammonia bottle in the lab exploded; he would wear aneyepatch for the rest of his life. Although he became anatheist early in life and resented the strict upbringing of his parents'religion, he identified with Jewish culture and joined several international fights againstanti-Semitism.[14] His wife of 53 years, Sally Taub Axelrod, died in 1992.At his death, on December 29, 2004, he was survived by two sons, Paul and Alfred, and three grandchildren.
After receiving the Nobel Prize in 1970, Axelrod used his visibility to advocate several science policy issues. In 1973 U.S. PresidentRichard Nixon created an agency with the specific goal of curing cancer. Axelrod, along with fellow Nobel-laureatesMarshall W. Nirenberg andChristian Anfinsen, organized a petition by scientists opposed to the new agency, arguing that by focusing solely on cancer, public funding would not be available for research into other, more solvable, medical problems. Axelrod also lent his name to several protests against the imprisonment of scientists in theSoviet Union.Axelrod was a member of the Board of Sponsors of theFederation of American Scientists and the International Academy of Science, Munich.
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