'98 Nobel Laureate recounts his road to the Prize
Brackenridge Visiting Scholar Dr. Louis Ignarro tells
HSC audience about unraveling nitroglycerin's mysteries
As a child Dr. Louis Ignarro loved what he saw in the "Flash Gordon" films, namely, rocket ships jetting to the stars. Before the United States or Russia launched their first orbiters, his rocket fuel mixture was exploding in the family barbecue pit in the back yard, causing him to shift his space exploration headquarters to a friend's house.
"It was this practical interest in chemistry that motivated me to a research career in chemicals, drugs and pharmacology," said Dr. Ignarro, one of the three U.S. scientists to share the 1998 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. A pharmacologist from the University of California, Los Angeles, he delivered public and scientific lectures at the Health Science Center April 12 and 13 as the Brackenridge Visiting Scholar. The George W. Brackenridge Foundation and the Health Science Center sponsor the Brackenridge Visiting Scholar series, which provides a forum for faculty and staff to interact with outstanding scientists such as Dr. Ignarro.
The public lecture attracted hundreds of community citizens participating in the final night of the Health Science Center's 1999 Mini-Medical School. Dr. Ignarro began by explaining that people in his occupation--pharmacologist--study the causes of diseases, learn the mechanism of action of drugs, and develop more effective and safer drugs. He spent the remainder of the time discussing his studies of nitroglycerin--the chemical that Alfred Nobel refined into dynamite but would not take for his own heart pain.
Dr. Ignarro became fascinated with nitroglycerin's mechanism of action in the late 1970s. "I wanted to know how nitroglycerin works," he said. "It is an explosive but also a drug, one that in humans does not work by its explosive properties but by a different mechanism of action. Although nitroglycerin had been used for well over a hundred years to treat angina pectoris, or heart pain due to heart failure, no one had a clue as to how it worked clinically. As a young pharmacologist, I made up my mind I was going to learn how it works."
That was in 1979. Only two years later, he and his colleagues reported that nitroglycerin is converted in the body to another chemical called nitric oxide, a molecule that allows cells to communicate with each other.
"When we worked out the mechanism by which nitroglycerine acts, all we showed at the time was that this drug was converted to nitric oxide, and it was nitric oxide that dilated the arteries and veins and relieved the anginal pain and so forth," Dr. Ignarro said. "The understandings about signaling came later."
About a century ago, Nobel harnessed the previously unpredictable explosive, nitroglycerin, for safer commercial use. He learned to mix it with soil and wrap it into dynamite sticks. He then set up dynamite production factories in Sweden, where his family was involved in the heavy construction business.
"The community physicians noted two things in workers developing dynamite from nitroglycerin," Dr. Ignarro said. "The factory workers were developing severe headaches Monday mornings after weekends off, and second, workers with angina experienced relief on Monday mornings and reappearance of the angina on weekends. This was due to fumes of nitroglycerin in the air of the factories."
In the workers' case, the nitroglycerin was dilating blood vessels in the brain, causing migraine headaches, but also was dilating blood vessels in the cardiovascular system, decreasing the heart's workload. "Ironically, Nobel himself developed heart disease but refused to take nitroglycerin for it, because of its other explosive properties," Dr. Ignarro said.
"It was nice to be in Stockholm this past December, because of the feeling in the air that this particular prize had to do with Alfred Nobel. This is Alfred Nobel's nitroglycerin, which he used to develop dynamite."
After their initial major discovery in 1981, Dr. Ignarro and his colleagues pressed on with studies of nitric oxide (NO). By 1986 they were able to show that not only does NO come from certain drugs such as nitroglycerin, it also is produced by some cells in the body, including cells in blood vessels. NO also proved to be an important signaling molecule in the heart and cardiovascular system.
The 1998 Nobel Prize was given jointly to Drs. Ignarro, Ferid Murad and Robert Furchgott for various independent discoveries.
"The discoveries are enabling pharmaceutical companies to develop more effective and safer drugs--better drugs than nitroglycerine--for the treatment of coronary artery disease and other cardiovascular diseases such as atherosclerosis [hardening of the arteries], stroke and heart failure," Dr. Ignarro said. "There is very wide application for the use of nitric oxide and nitric oxide-like drugs for the treatment of cardiovascular disorders."
He touched upon several examples of these applications:
- Better nitroglycerins to reduce high blood pressure;
- Drugs to prevent blood clots and disorders such as stroke;
- Therapies to prevent vascular complications in diabetics;
- Saving the lives of infants who have persistent pulmonary hypertension;
- Treating impotency.
Not surprisingly, the latter application put Dr. Ignarro on the front page of the New York Times and in the New England Journal of Medicine. His research team's studies led to the development of the famed impotency drug Viagra.
"We showed in the early '90s that nitric oxide is an important chemical released from the nerves that go to the erectile tissue in men and women, and it is important for regulating and causing erectile function," he said. "Before 1990, our understanding of the physiology of erectile response was very minimal."
He joked that the New York Times article on his team's work was published on the front page in the left-hand column, "which is usually reserved for very notable events such as declarations of war."
Dr. Ignarro is the Jerome J. Belzer, M.D., Distinguished Professor of Pharmacology at the UCLA School of Medicine and is appointed in the school's Department of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology. He spent three days in San Antonio meeting with faculty and students, delivering the scientific and public lectures, greeting members of the Health Science Center's President's Council and granting media interviews.
Dr. Vernon Bishop, professor and chair of the Department of Physiology, chaired the Brackenridge Lectureship Committee.
Texas Diabetes Institute set
to host community activities
Grand opening activities begin May 4
The Texas Diabetes Institute will officially open its doors with a week of tours and events beginning May 4.The new $28 million community-based diabetes institute, located on San Antonio's West Side, will host a series of welcome activities May 4-8 to give the public an opportunity to meet the staff, tour the facility and learn about the array of services available to patients.
A collaboration between the University Health System and the Health Science Center, the 153,000-square-foot diabetes institute is expected to become a national model for diabetes treatment, education and research. The facility is designed to provide state-of-the-art preventive care and education with a multidisciplinary approach, offering patients a team of practitioners in fields related to diabetes. These include endocrinology, podiatry, obstetrics, internal and rehabilitation medicine, nutrition and certified diabetes education. The institute also offers a wound care center and renal dialysis clinic.
As part of an all-inclusive approach, the new center houses classrooms, an auditorium, a teaching kitchen, a patient library, a fitness center, research laboratories, a 28-station outpatient renal dialysis clinic, a pharmacy and clinics for each medical specialty.
"We are more than a clinic. TDI addresses the whole person, the family and the community--not just the disease," said Terri De La Haya, vice president of the University Center for Community Health. "We stress that we provide a continuum of care. We feature the case management approach, which involves physicians, nurses, dietitians, social workers and educators."
The new center also will house clinical research programs, including studies conducted on Type 2 (late-onset) diabetes and identifying the gene or genes responsible for the disease within several generations of diabetes sufferers.
Community members and patients will have the opportunity to hear about the institute's services, tour the building and enjoy entertainment beginning May 4 when the center hosts "Community Day." This event will include children's activities and refreshments.
As part of its grand opening week activities, the center also will hold a "Health Care Professionals Day" on May 5, including an opportunity to meet the staff. A reception and dinner "Sponsorship Celebration" will take place May 6. Tickets are $50 for the evening.
The official grand opening ceremony will take place May 8. Dr. John P. Howe, III, president of the Health Science Center, is among the scheduled guests. For more information on these events, call 358-9860.
Grand Opening Week at the
Texas Diabetes Institute
(701 S. Zarzamora St.)
Community Day
Tuesday, May 4 • 3-5 p.m.
Tours, diabetes screening, entertainment, refreshments & children's activities
5-6 p.m. ceremony
Health Care Professionals Day
Wednesday, May 5
11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. & 5-7 p.m.
Tours, refreshments, entertainment, meet the staff
Sponsorship Celebration
Thursday, May 6 • 6:30 p.m. Reception
7-9 p.m. • Dinner & entertainment
Tickets $50 each; call 358-9860
Grand Opening Day
Saturday, May 8 • 10-11 a.m.
Official ceremony
11 a.m. to 2 p.m. • Tours, diabetes screening, entertainment & refreshments
Annual celebration honors secretaries
Every day, secretaries and administrative personnel make life easier at the Health Science Center. Last week, colleagues and supervisors alike were given an opportunity to show their appreciation during Professional Secretaries' Week through a bouquet of flowers, a lunch out or a handwritten note of thanks.Professional Secretaries' Week is an annual celebration held the last full week of April in recognition of the contributions made by secretaries and administrative assistants across the country.
Janice Smith, administrative assistant in the graduate dean's office, said days like these remind her, through the notes and tokens of appreciation she has received over the years, of how she affects people's lives on a day-to-day basis.
"You do your job every day and you don't realize the impact," said Smith, a 13-year Health Science Center employee. "It's not until you read the little notes that you realize maybe you made a difference in that person's day."
Making the Rounds
- Bruce M. Smith, former director of the Office of Grants Management & Reports at the Health Science Center, passed away April 13 at the age of 81. Smith, a Rice
University graduate, joined the Health Science Center in 1965 and became its first director of grants management before retiring in 1984. He was a World War II veteran who flew B-52
bombers and received the Distinguished Flying Cross and Bronze Star. Memorial services were held at St. Francis Episcopal Church.
- Congratulations to Kathy
Farrar, director of risk management for the Office of Legal Affairs & Technology Licensing, on her March 6 marriage to
Tom Geoghegan.
- Health Science Center staff bowled for dollars recently when they participated in the Big Brothers/Big Sisters Bowl-A-Thon. Bowlers included
Louis Baltazar, physical plant/utilities; LeaAnn Thomas, computing resources; and
Lisa Moreno, Roberta Narvaez, La Shawn Payton
and Dianne Scales, all from telecommunications & networking.
- Members of the Department of Orthodontics, including
Dr. Shiro Sakai, Dr. Robert Lemke and Semilla Mestiza
Rivera, participated in The University of Texas at San
Antonio's annual health fair, held April 7. The department provided informational brochures describing
common symptoms associated with temporomandibular disorder (TMD). A video demonstrating a routine surgery undertaken to align the upper and lower jaw also was presented.
In addition, brochures provided by the Department of Community Dentistry offered information on periodontal disease, water fluoridation, prevention of tooth decay and the importance of maintaining proper oral hygiene.
Newly Granted
The following new and competitive renewal grants and awards were recorded in 1999 by the Grants Management Office.
Biochemistry
"Cancer Center Council ISCO Fractionator," Dr. Martin Adamo, Cancer Therapy & Research Center (CTRC), $9,202, 1 year.
Cellular & Structural Biology
"Sensitizing Cancer for Chemotherapy," Dr. Wanda Hardman, American Institute of Cancer Research, $73,790, 1 year.
Community Dentistry
"Dental Oncology Education Program," Dr. Daniel Jones, Texas A&M Research Foundation, $25,530, 1 year.
General Dentistry
"Technical Assistance for Oral Health Survey in St. Kitts," Dr. Ramon Baez, Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), $10,000, 3 months.
Institute of Biotechnology
"Photorecepter Cell-Fate Determination in Drosophila Retina," Dr. Steven Britt, National Institutes of Health (NIH)/National Eye Institute (NEI), $1,101,243, 4 years.
"Regulation of Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor Gene Expression," Dr. Paul Gardner, Smokeless Tobacco Research Council, $65,000, 1 year.
Medicine
"Immunotherapy for Microbacterial Infections," Dr. Sunil Ahuja, Kleberg Foundation, $357,000, 1 year.
"A Phase II Multicenter Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled, Dose-Finding Study for Safety, Pharmacokinetics & Efficacy of Recombinant Fibroblast Growth Factor-2 (RFGF-2) in Subjects with Coronary Artery Disease," Dr. Steven Bailey, Chiron Corp., $170,000, 11 months.
"A Phase II Randomized, Parallel-Group, Multiple-Dose Study of Lodenosine (FDDA) in Combination with Stavudine and Indinavir in Anti-Retroviral-Naive, HIV-Infected Adult Patients," Dr. Delia Bullock, PPD Pharmaco Inc., $85,575, 1 year.
"Effects of Electrolyzed & Non-Electrolyzed Water on Tissue Culture," Dr. Gabriel Fernandes, Monsanto Co., $48,000, 6 months.
"Agreement for Jodi A. Alexander," Dr. Cesar Freytes, Biomedical Research Foundation of South Texas, $24,219, 1 year.
"Treatment of Fusarium with Xoma Compound in a Mouse Model," Dr. John Graybill, Xoma Corp., $23,220, 1 year.
"Isolation and Sequencing of the Circulating Adipocyte Differentiation Factor from Serum," Dr. Robert Gregerman, Morrison Trust, $45,000, 1 year.
"Translational Regulation in Diabetic Nephrology," Balakuntalam Kasinath, American Diabetes Association, $100,000, 1 year.
"Intergovernmental Personnel Agreement (IPA) for Dr. Narayanasamy Elango," Dr. Michael Katz, South Texas Veterans Health Care System, $42,418, 30 months.
"Cancer Center Council Inverted Fluorescence Microscope," Dr. Steffi Oesterreich, CTRC, $9,692, until project completion.
"The Detection & Significance of Fluconazole Resistance in Oropharyngeal Candidiasis," Dr. Thomas Patterson, Pfizer Pharmaceuticals, $92,378, until project completion.
"Retinoblastoma Protein in Mesangial Cell Proliferation," Dr. Daniel Riley, American Heart Association, $260,000, 2 years.
Microbiology
"Identity of Trichomonas Vaginalis Cytoadhesins," Dr. John Alderete, NIH/National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), $797,082, 2 years.
"B-Cell and Repertoire Development In Vitro," Dr. Judy Teale, NIH/NIAID, $1,335,010, 3 years.
Obstetrics & Gynecology
"Multicenter Network of Maternal-Fetal Medicine Units," Dr. Oded Langer, NIH/National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), $211,497, 14 months.
Pediatrics
"Addressing Sentencing-Related Changes in Correctional Health Care: Building a Practitioner/Researcher Partnership," Dr. Jacques Baillargeon, National Institute of Justice/U. T. Medical Branch, $64,723, 20 months.
"Project Better Futures," Dr. Kathleen Fletcher, Young Women's Christian Association, $61,729, 1 year.
"Hemophilia Diagnostic & Treatment Centers," Dr. Anthony Infante, UTHSC-Houston, $91,489, 1 year.
"Prevention of the Complications of Hemophilia Through HTCS," Dr. Anthony Infante, UTHSC-Houston, $112,855, 1 year.
"Pediatric Physician Services for Bexar County Juvenile Detention Center," Dr. Celia Kaye, University Health System (UHS), $91,000, 1 year.
"Texas Genetics Network," Dr. Celia Kaye, Texas Department of Health, $107,098, 1 year.
Pharmacology
"Mechanisms of Antagonist-Induced Desensitization of the Serotonin-2A Receptor," Dr. Julie Hensler, Pharmaceutical Research & Manufacturers of America Foundation, $25,000, 2 years.
"Regulation of 5-HT1A Receptor Function," Dr. William Clarke, NIH/National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), $985,788, 4 years.
"Ethanol-Induced NMDA R1 MRNA Stabilization," Dr. Meena Kumari, NIH/National Institute of Alcohol Abuse & Alcoholism, $613,368, 4 years.
Physical Therapy
"Comparison of Gait Parameters," Ann Newstead, Texas Physical Therapy Education and Research Foundation, $3,800, 1 year.
Psychiatry
"Genotypic and Phenotypic Studies of Bipolar Disorder," Dr. Michael Escamilla, NIH/NIMH, $617,641, 3 years.
"Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Services," Dr. Steven Pliszka, UHS, $11,200, 1 year.
Bill would establish Laredo extension center
Legislation recently introduced in the Texas House and Senate would authorize a Laredo Campus Extension of the Health Science Center.The Laredo extension would provide a home for activities already in Laredo which were started as part of the South Texas/Border Initiative, including residency training programs and other levels of health education training.
Future educational programs requested by and supported by the community and the legislature may be added as resources become available. Sen. Judith Zaffirini and Rep. Henry Cuellar, both of Laredo, announced the legislation March 19 at the center's proposed site, intersection of Barlett and Bustamante streets in Laredo.
Senate Bill 1288 by Sen. Zaffirini and House Bill 3313 by Reps. Cuellar and Tracy King, Uvalde, would authorize the Laredo extension. Courses would be offered in collaboration with Texas A&M International University in Laredo and other component institutions of the A&M and University of Texas systems.
Dr. John P. Howe, III, president; Dr. Ray Keck, provost, Texas A&M International University; Javier Iruegas, chief operating officer, Mercy Regional Medical Center; Elizabeth Flores, Laredo mayor; and Mayor Pro Tempore Louis Bruni joined Sen. Zaffirini and Rep. Cuellar at the site sign unveiling.
Question to the President
The main entrance to the Medical School building poses quite a challenge for our disabled and elderly visitors. Would it be possible to put in a power door there and to smooth out the doorstep so that wheelchair-bound individuals and those with walkers might have easier access? I see some people struggling to get in the door. I've wanted to ask this question for a while, but thought someone else would. Now I'm taking the bull by the horns.
Dr. Howe responds:
The main entrance to the Medical School has for years suffered from the effects of the highly expansive soil in the Medical Center area. The expansive
soil results in movement between the main building and the building portion supported by the arcade, along a building expansion joint. The expansion joint was located
sufficiently away from the doors so that movement of the buildings would not impact opening the door. Unfortunately, the movement does result in floor variation at the expansion joint
that can be difficult to negotiate for someone with mobility impairment.
This condition has existed for many years, and the decision was made to install the accessible entry door to the west of the main entrance. This accessible entrance is fully ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) compliant. It is identified with signage and provided with an automatic door opener. Additionally, the floor at this location is level, which provides for easy access. While current signage is compliant, some of the signs will be relocated to make it easier for someone new to campus to identify the location of the accessible entrance.
Grants competition presentation May 11
The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board recently announced its biennial Advanced Research Program/Advanced Technology Program grants competition. Grants are offered in all scientific research areas, including the biological sciences, biomedicine and medical biotechnology research.Staff from the Coordinating Board will be on campus May 11 at 1:30 p.m. in Room 444B in the Medical School. Members of the Institutional Strategic Research Planning Committee will give additional information designed to help faculty and other investigators strengthen their proposals for the competition.
For more information, contact the Office of Grants Management at ext. 2340.
Program announcements also may be downloaded from the Coordinating Board Web site.
May 7 rally to honor nurses
In honor of National Nurses Week May 2-8, students and faculty will hold a Nursing Rally from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Friday, May 7, in the courtyard between the nursing buildings. Several nurses will speak on the current health care climate and how it has impacted their practice.U.S. Rep. Ciro Rodriguez of Texas has been invited to speak, along with Mary Jessie Roque, deputy director of U.S. Rep. Charles Gonzales' district office, and Maxine Bernreuter, assistant professor of family nursing care and president of the Texas Nursing Association's district chapter.
The event is free of charge and open to the public. Refreshments will be available. For more information, call Nadine Thomson at 646-0683.
Students enrolled in "Nursing Role in Policy and Management in Health Care," a graduate course offered in the School of Nursing, took the lead in organizing this event. It is one of a series of events celebrating the school's 30th anniversary.
ALS symposium set
The Health Science Center will host the South Texas ALS Symposium on Thursday, May 6. Dr. Jeffrey Rosenfeld, ALS researcher and clinician, and Paula D'Arcy, counselor and author, are scheduled to speak. For more information, call Susan Duncan at 567-4444.Police raising funds for Special Olympics
The University Police Department wants your pocket change--your quarters, that is.The department has joined police departments at other area academic institutions to hold a "Mile of Quarters" fund-raiser for Special Olympics. The department will stretch a ribbon tape Friday, May 7, at the Health Science Center track--a symbolic act representing the amount raised for the special athletes. "A mile of quarters equals about $17,000, which helps transport athletes, coaches and trainers to winter and summer Special Olympics," said Steve Atkins, crime prevention officer with the University Police Department.
Police officers and Special Olympics athletes and volunteers will be at the track from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. May 7. Donations may be made there or at any entry gate to the Health Science Center. Donation buckets have been placed in the Dental School cafeteria, the Easy Go snack bar, Subway, the Allied Health/Research first-floor eatery, the Institute of Biotechnology and the McDermott Building front-door entry station.
Y100 FM, KONO-AM 860, KKYX-AM 680 and KCJZ 106.7 FM are generously providing publicity.
The Miles of Quarters event is part of the 1999 Greater San Antonio Law Enforcement Torch Run, which has a goal of raising $50,000 for Special
Olympics. Donations also are being collected at San Antonio College, UTSA, Trinity University and The
University of the Incarnate Word.
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