Rodbell , Martin

Rodbell , Martin
(1925–) American biochemist
Rodbell was educated at the University of Washington where he gained his PhD in 1954. He first worked at the National Institute of Health, Bethesda, Maryland. In 1985 he was appointed Scientific Director of the National Institute for Environmental Health Sciences, North Carolina.
Rodbell has attempted to show at the molecular level how cells respond to such chemical signals as hormones and neurotransmitters. It had been shown by Earl Sutherland in 1957 that hormones, also known as ‘first messengers’, do not actually penetrate into the cell but rather stimulate the production of a so-called second messenger, cAMP (cyclic adenosine monophosphate). But, Rodbell asked, how does the binding of a hormone to its receptor stimulate the production of cAMP?
The process proved to be quite complex. In the late 1960s Rodbell found that at least two other factors, referred to as an amplifier and a transducer, were essential. The first extra factor, the amplifier, was needed to initiate the production of cAMP. It was identified as the enzyme AC (adenylate cyclase), which converted the energy-rich molecule ATP (adenosine triphosphate) into the second messenger cAMP. For the second extra factor, the transducer, Rodbell found that no reaction would occur without the presence of a complex energy-rich molecule GTP (guanine triphosphate). The GTP reacted in some way with the AC to initiate cAMP production. If either were absent the cell simply would not respond to such external stimuli as insulin or adrenaline.
For his work on what later became known as G proteins, Rodbell shared the 1994 Nobel Prize for physiology or medicine with Alfred Gilman.

Scientists. . 2011.

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  • RODBELL, MARTIN — (1925–1998), U.S. biochemist and Nobel laureate. Rodbell was born in Baltimore and received his B.A. at Johns Hopkins University (1949) after his studies were interrupted by Navy service in World War II, and his Ph.D. in biochemistry at the… …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • Rodbell, Martin — ▪ 1999       American biochemist (b. Dec. 1, 1925, Baltimore, Md. d. Dec. 7, 1998, Chapel Hill, N.C.), was corecipient (with Alfred G. Gilman) of the 1994 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine for discovering that certain proteins the so called… …   Universalium

  • Rodbell, Martin — ► (n. 1925 98) Científico estadounidense. Fue premio Nobel de Medicina en 1994, compartido con A. Gilman, por su descubrimiento de las proteínas G y su papel en la transmisión de señales en las células …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Rodbell — Martin …   Scientists

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  • Martin Rodbell — Born December 1, 1925 …   Wikipedia

  • Martin Rodbell — (* 1. Dezember 1925 in Baltimore, Maryland; † 7. Dezember 1998 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina) war ein US amerikanischer Biochemiker. Er entdeckte die G Proteine und war an der Aufklärung ihrer Funk …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Rodbell — Martin Rodbell Martin Rodbell (* 1. Dezember 1925 in Baltimore, Maryland, USA; † 7. Dezember 1998 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA) war ein US amerikanischer Biochemiker. 1994 erh …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Martin Rodbell — est un biochimiste américain né à Baltimore (Maryland) le 1er décembre 1925 et mort le 7 décembre 1998 à Chapel Hill Caroline du Nord. Il a reçu le Prix No …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Martin Rodbell — Martin Rodbell. Martin Rodbell (1925 1998), nació en Baltimore, Estados Unidos. Estudió biología en la Universidad Johns Hopkins. Trabajó durante muchos años en el NIH (National Institute of Health) de Betheseda, Maryland. Posteriormente trabajó… …   Wikipedia Español

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