分子医学之父——英格拉姆

The Father of Molecular Medicine:Vernon Martin Ingram

镰刀型贫血中血红蛋白单氨基酸替换的发现是分子生物学史上奠基性贡献之一。1956年,英格拉姆联合使用电泳和纸层析技术发现正常和镰刀型贫血血红蛋白的第6位氨基酸是唯一区别(6位谷氨酸变为缬氨酸)。这是科学家第一次发现蛋白质单一氨基酸替换就可导致疾病发生的现象,因此英格拉姆有时被称为分子医学之父。英格拉姆的发现促使了分子医学的蓬勃发展,同时还使大家更多意识到镰刀型贫血的重要性。1980年代起,英格拉姆还在神经退行性疾病如早老性痴呆分子基础方面做出了重大贡献。本文通过英格拉姆生平介绍来理解他对生命科学的贡献。

The discovery of a single amino acid substitution in sickle cell anemia hemoglobin is one of the seminal discoveries in the history of molecular biology.In 1956,Vernon Martin Ingram used electrophoresis and paper chromatography to show the unique difference of normal human and sickle cell anemia hemoglobin in the sixth amino acid(E6V).This was the first time a researcher demonstrated that a single amino acid exchange in a protein could cause a disease.As a result,Ingram is sometimes referred to as the The father of Molecular Medicine.' The finding also led to an explosion in molecular medicine using Ingram technique,and a great increase in awareness of the importance of sickle cell disease.From 1980s,Ingram has made many other significant contributions to the molecular basis of neurodegenerative diseases,such as Alzheimer's disease.This article introduces Ingram's life so that his contributions to life science could be well understood.