Du Vigneaud Synthesizes Oxytocin, the First Peptide Hormone
At a glance:
- Series: Great Events from History II: Science and Technology Series
- Categories: Science, Medicine, Health
- Subcategories: Biology, Biologists, Scientists, Chemistry, Chemists
- Curriculum: American History 1951-present
- Geographical Location: New York
- Date: 1953
Article abstract: Du Vigneaud’s synthesis of oxytocin, a small polypeptide hormone from the pituitary gland, gave hope that the more complex polypeptides and proteins could be synthesized and used in medicine.
Summary of Event
In England in 1895, physician George Oliver and Edward Albert Sharpey-Schafer, a physiologist, reported that an extract of bovine pituitary gland produced a rise in blood pressure when it was injected into animals. Three years later, William H. Howell at The Johns Hopkins University demonstrated that the increase in blood...
[The entire page is 2391 words long]
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