| RefNo | EC/1978/17 |
| Previous numbers | Cert XX, 106 |
| Level | Item |
| Title | Kosterlitz, Hans Walter: certificate of election to the Royal Society |
| Date | 1977 |
| Description | Citation typed |
| Citation | Distinguished for several important contributions during 46 years of active research, the most recent being the discovery of the enkephalins. In early work, he was the first to isolate, identify and synthesize galactose-l-phosphate as an intermediary in glactose metabolism. Initiated an analysis of the intestinal peristaltic reflex which led to his main work on the mode of action of narcotic analgesic drugs. Developed two morphine-sensitive models capable of predicting drug action in the CNS, the electrically stimulated guinea-pig ileum, introduced by W.D.M. Paton, and the mouse vas deferens. Investigations of structure-activity relationships of agonist and antagonist narcotic analgesics led Kosterlitz to the concept of an endogenous ligand to explain the presence of well-defined opiate receptors. In 1973 he invited Dr. J. Hughes to join him in the search for the putative endogenous opiate in the brain. This work culminated in the discovery in 1975 of met- and leu0 enkephalin. Since then, further research by Kosterlitz and his colleagues has disclosed several different receptors for enkephalin-type peptides. Readily-inactivated enkephalins probably act as neurotransmitters whereas more stable peptides, particularly beta-endorphin, seems to play a neurohormonal role. |
| AccessStatus | Closed |
Fellows associated with this archive
| Code | PersonName | Dates |
| NA409 | Kosterlitz; Hans Walter (1903 - 1996) | 1903 - 1996 |