Earl Wilbur Sutherland Jr. facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Earl Wilbur Sutherland Jr.
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| Born | November 19, 1915 Burlingame, Kansas, U.S.
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| Died | March 9, 1974 (aged 58) |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | Washington University in St. Louis (M.D) Washburn University (B.S) |
| Known for | Epinephrine, cyclic AMP |
| Awards | Gairdner Foundation International Award (1969) Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research (1970) Dickson Prize (1971) Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (1971) National Medal of Science (1973) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Biochemistry |
| Institutions | Vanderbilt University, Case Western Reserve University, Washington University School of Medicine, University of Miami |
| Doctoral students | Ferid Murad |
| Influences | Carl Cori, Gerty Cori |
Earl Wilbur Sutherland Jr. (born November 19, 1915 – died March 9, 1974) was an American scientist. He was a pharmacologist (someone who studies how medicines work) and a biochemist (someone who studies the chemistry of living things). He was born in Burlingame, Kansas.
Sutherland won the famous Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1971. He received this award for finding out how hormones work in our bodies. He especially studied a hormone called epinephrine (also known as adrenaline). He discovered that hormones use "second messengers" to send their signals. The most important second messenger he found was cyclic adenosine monophosphate, or cyclic AMP.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Earl W. Sutherland Jr. was born in Burlingame, Kansas, on November 19, 1915. He was one of six children. His father, Earl W. Sutherland, ran a dry goods store. His mother, Edith M. Hartshorn, had some nursing training. Earl loved to fish from a young age, and it was a hobby he enjoyed his whole life.
When he was in high school, Earl was a great athlete. He played tennis, basketball, and football.
In 1933, at age 17, Sutherland started college at Washburn College in Topeka, Kansas. He studied to get a science degree. To pay for school, he worked at a local hospital as a medical assistant. He finished college in 1937, when he was 21.
After college, he went to Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. There, he met Carl Ferdinand Cori, who became his important teacher and guide. In 1942, Sutherland earned his medical degree.
Career in Science
Early Research and Teaching
In 1940, while still a student, Sutherland started doing research. He worked in the lab of Carl Ferdinand Cori at the Washington University School of Medicine. Cori later won a Nobel Prize for his work on how the body uses glycogen (a stored form of sugar).
Under Cori's guidance, Sutherland studied how hormones like epinephrine and glucagon affect glycogen. He wanted to know how these hormones make the body break down glycogen into glucose (sugar). In 1942, he also worked as an intern at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis.
After getting his medical degree, Sutherland served as an army doctor during World War II. He returned to Washington University in St. Louis in 1945. He continued his research in Cori's lab. Sutherland often said that Cori inspired him to become a researcher instead of a medical doctor.
He taught at Washington University School of Medicine for several years. He held different teaching roles in pharmacology and biochemistry.
Moving to Case Western Reserve University
In 1953, Sutherland moved to Cleveland. He became a professor and head of the pharmacology department at Case Western Reserve University. Here, he worked closely with Theodore W. Rall. Rall became his research partner for many years.
Together, they studied how hormones work at a tiny, molecular level. During his ten years at Case Western Reserve University, Sutherland made very important discoveries. These discoveries led to finding cyclic adenosine monophosphate, or cyclic AMP. He also found out that cyclic AMP acts as a "secondary messenger" in the body.
Later Years and Continued Research
In 1963, Sutherland became a professor at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in Nashville, Tennessee. This new job allowed him to spend more time on his research. He kept working on cyclic AMP. He received financial help from the American Heart Association in 1967. He taught at Vanderbilt University until 1973.
In 1973, after ten years at Vanderbilt, Sutherland moved to Miami, Florida. He joined the University of Miami's medical school as a distinguished professor of biochemistry. He continued his research on related molecules like adenosine monophosphate and guanosine monophosphate. He even co-authored four scientific papers in 1973 alone.
Discovery of Cyclic AMP
While working in Cori's lab, Sutherland and his team made discoveries about how the body uses glycogen. These findings later helped him discover cyclic AMP. Cori's lab had already figured out the basic steps of glycogen use. Sutherland helped find out how important a specific enzyme called liver phosphorylase (LP) was in breaking down glycogen. He found that LP controlled how fast glycogen metabolism happened. This enzyme became the main focus of his research for years. His most famous discovery came from studying LP and how it interacts with hormones.
After understanding LP's importance, Sutherland continued his research at Western Reserve University. He worked with Ted Rall, Walter D. Wosilait, and Jacques Berthet. They published a series of four papers called "The Relationship of Epinephrine and Glucagon to Liver Phosphorylase." These papers explained how they purified LP and studied its properties.
They found that LP's activity depended on adding or removing a phosphate group. This process is called phosphorylation. They also showed that when epinephrine and glucagon were added to liver cells, more phosphate was taken in. This suggested that these hormones were helping to activate LP.
The scientists also found that this activation of LP happened because of another enzyme called phosphorylase kinase. They also studied how LP was turned off. They found an enzyme that removed the phosphate group, which they first called LP-inactivating enzyme. It was later renamed liver phosphorylase phosphatase.
The Key Experiment
The fourth paper in their series, published in 1956, was very important. In this paper, Sutherland and his team studied epinephrine and glucagon even more. The key to their success was using a "homogenate" of liver cells. This meant they used broken-up liver cells instead of whole, intact cells. At the time, most scientists thought you could only study hormones using whole cells. This was the first time a hormone pathway was studied using broken-up cells.
Sutherland and his co-authors saw similar effects in the liver homogenate as they did in whole liver cells. More importantly, they saw the response happen in two steps. First, a part of the cell mixture produced an unknown heat-stable factor when hormones were present. Then, this factor stimulated the formation of liver phosphorylase in another part of the mixture where hormones were not present. This unknown factor, which was made when hormones were present and led to the formation of liver phosphorylase, was later named cyclic AMP.
The discovery of cyclic AMP and the idea of "second messengers" were huge for medicine. Sutherland's findings came after a lot of trying and sometimes making mistakes. For example, they initially thought a special sugar solution was needed for their cell mixtures. It turned out it wasn't needed, and without it, they got better results. Also, Sutherland first believed that only whole cells could show hormone effects. But his partner, Rall, convinced him to try broken-up cells. When they saw the effect almost double, they knew their old belief was wrong. Their willingness to change their methods and ideas helped them make these amazing discoveries.
Personal Life
Sutherland married Mildred Rice in 1937, the same year he finished college. During World War II in 1944, Sutherland became a battalion surgeon. He later served as a staff doctor in a military hospital in Germany until 1945. He had two sons and one daughter with Mildred Rice.
In 1962, Sutherland divorced his first wife. A year later, in 1963, he married Dr. Claudia Sebeste Smith. She was an assistant dean at Vanderbilt University, where he had just become a professor. They stayed together for the rest of Sutherland's life.
Awards and Achievements
Earl Sutherland received many honors for his groundbreaking work:
- 1937 – Earned his Bachelor of Science degree from Washburn College in Topeka, Kansas.
- 1942 – Earned his Doctor of Medicine degree from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri.
- 1969 – Received the Gairdner Foundation International Award.
- 1970 – Awarded the Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research.
- 1971 – Won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his discoveries about hormones.
- 1971 – Received the Golden Plate Award from the American Academy of Achievement.
- 1973 – Awarded the National Medal of Science by President Richard Nixon.
In 1952, he gave the Banting Memorial Lectureship. In 1953, he was chosen to lead the Department of Pharmacology at Case Western Reserve University. He was also named a Career Investigator by the American Heart Association in 1967. In 1973, he became a member of the important National Academy of Sciences.
Sutherland was also a member of several scientific groups. These included the American Society of Biological Chemists and the American Chemical Society. He also served on the editorial boards for scientific journals.
Death
Earl Sutherland died on March 9, 1974, at the age of 58. He passed away after surgery due to internal bleeding.
Legacy
After Sutherland's death in 1974, the University of Miami's medical school started the Sutherland Memorial Lecture. This is a special talk given in his honor.
In 1976, Vanderbilt University created the Sutherland Prize. This award is given each year to a faculty member whose work is recognized nationally or internationally. The winner receives $5,000 and has their name engraved on a silver bowl.
Vanderbilt also honored Sutherland in 1997 by starting a Sutherland lecture series. In 2001, they created the Sutherland Chair of Pharmacology. This is a special teaching position. Heidi E. Hamm, a Vanderbilt faculty member, was the first person to hold this important title.
See also
In Spanish: Earl Wilbur Sutherland Jr. para niños
