Erwin Neher, along with Bert Sakmann, was awarded the 1991 Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine for the development of the patch clamp technique. The use of this technique enabled Neher and Sakmann to forge new paths in the study of membrane physiology and to understand the structure and functions of ion channels found in the plasma membranes of most body cells. The patch clamp technique has given physiologists a precise understanding of cellular microelectrical activity and has contributed significantly to the research and treatment of cystic fibrosis, diabetes, epilepsy, and other disorders of the cardiovascular and neuromuscular systems.
Neher was born in Landsberg, Germany, on March 20, 1944, the son of Franz Xavier Neher and Elisabeth Pfeiffer Neher. In 1965, he completed his undergraduate studies at the Institute of Technology in Munich with a major in physics. Two years later, he earned his master's degree from the University of Wisconsin under a Fulbright scholarship. He then went on to complete his doctorate at the Institute of Technology in Munich, Germany, in 1970.
While the existence of ion channels that transmit electrical charges was hypothesized as early as the 1950s, no one had been able to see these channels. As a doctoral student, Neher was drawn to the question of how electrically charged ions control such biological functions as the transmission of nerve impulses, the contraction of muscles, vision, and the process of conception. He realized that in order to get answers to these questions he would have to look for the ion channels.
It was in his doctoral thesis that Neher first developed the concept of the patch clamp technique as a way of discovering the ion channels. In 1974 he shared a laboratory space with Bert Sakmann at the Max Planck Institute in Göttingen. They both agreed that understanding the nature of ion channels was the most important problem in the biophysics of the cell membrane, and they set out to develop the techniques of patch clamping.
Neher briefly worked with Charles F. Stevens at the University of Washington. When Stevens moved to Yale, Neher followed him while maintaining his collaboration with Sakmann. From 1975 to 1976, Neher was a research associate in the department of physiology at Yale University, and much of the data for the paper on patch clamps came from the Yale studies.
In 1976 Neher and Sakmann published their landmark paper on the use of glass recording electrodes with microscopic tips, called micropipettes, pressed against a cell membrane. With these devices, which they called patch clamp electrodes, they were able to electrically isolate a tiny patch of the cell membrane and to study the protein s in that area. They could then see how the individual proteins acted as channels or gates for specific ions, allowing certain ions to pass through the cell membrane one at a time, while preventing others from entering. Their work with patch clamps allowed them to remove a patch of the membrane and to enter the interior of the cell. They then were able to conduct various experiments to observe the intricate mechanism of ion channels.
Several years passed after they presented their findings to an audience at the Biophysical Society meeting in 1976 in which Neher and Sakmann, along with their co-workers, refined the technique of patch clamping. Creating a better seal between the micropipette and the patch of cell membrane it pressed against was one of the refinements they sought. Without a tight seal there was interference by "noise" that overshadowed the smaller electrical currents.
The problem of outside noise interference was solved by Neher in 1980 when he was able to observe on his oscilloscope a marked drop in the noise level to almost zero. From this drop, he was able to infer that he had produced a seal that was one hundred times better than previously attained. While other researchers had noticed an abatement of noise at times, Neher was the first to realize the significance of the drop in noise level.
Neher found that by using a light suction with a super clean pipette, he could create a high-resistance seal of 10-100 gigohms (a gigohm is a measure of electrical resistance equal to one billion ohms). He called this seal a "gigaseal." With the gigaseal, background noise could be decreased, and a number of new ways could be used to control cells for patch clamp experimentation. Patches from the cell could now be torn away from the membrane to act as a membrane coating over the mouth of the pipette, thus allowing for more exact measurement of electrical ion movement. A strong suction could force the pipette into the cell while still maintaining a tight seal for the cell as a whole.
In 1976, Neher returned to the Max Planck Institute in Göttingen. On December 26, 1978, he married Eva-Maria Ruhr, a microbiologist. They have five children. Neher became director of the membrane biophysics department at the Max Planck Institute in 1983, and in 1987, he was made an honorary professor. In 1991, Neher and Sakmann won the 1991 Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine for proving the existence of ion channels.
Researchers using the patch clamp technique were able to discover a defective ion channel that was responsible for cystic fibrosis. Because of the use of patch clamps in research, there is now a better understanding of hormone regulation and the production of insulin as it relates to diabetes. The Nobel Committee also praised the work of Neher and Sakmann for helping in research on heart disease, epilepsy, and disorders affecting the nervous and muscle systems. Patch clamp research has helped in the development of new drugs for these conditions.
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