John R. Vane's research on prostaglandins, hormone-like substances produced by the body, proved fundamental in the research and treatment of such illnesses as heart disease, strokes, ulcers and asthma. Through his studies, first at the Royal College of Surgeons, and then at the Wellcome pharmaceutical company, Vane discovered how these previously little-known secretions function. For these contributions to medicine and to physiology, Vane shared the 1982 Nobel Prize in medicine or physiology.
Vane was born March 29, 1927, in Tardebigge, Worcester, the son of Maurice Vane and the former Frances Fisher. Vane's father, the son of Russian immigrants, owned a small manufacturing company; his mother came from a family of farmers. Their Christmas gift of a chemistry set sparked Vane's interest in science when he was twelve, and his home became the site of numerous experiments. However, upon entering the University of Birmingham in 1944, he found that the work given him was not as challenging as he anticipated. After receiving his B.S. in chemistry from Birmingham in 1946, Vane decided to go to Oxford University to study pharmacology under Harold Burn. He obtained a B.S. in pharmacology from Oxford in 1949, and earned his doctorate in 1953. While at Oxford, Vane married. He and his wife eventually had two daughters. After leaving Oxford, Vane came to America to teach at Yale University as an instructor and assistant professor of pharmacology. He returned to England in 1955 as a senior lecturer in pharmacology at the Royal College of Surgeons, at its Institute of Basic Medical Sciences.
Vane became interested in prostaglandins in the late 1950s. Discovered in the 1930s, they were originally thought to be secreted by the prostate gland, which is how they got their name. Prostaglandins are natural compounds, developed from fatty acids, which control many bodily functions. Different prostaglandins regulate blood pressure and coagulation, allergic reactions to substances, the rate of metabolism, glandular secretions, and contractions in the uterus.
For many years after the discovery of prostaglandins, scientists were unaware of how they were produced and how they functioned. In the early 1960s, Vane expanded upon the procedure known as biological assay (bioassay), by which the strength of a substance is measured by comparing its effects on an organism with those of a standard preparation. Vane developed the dynamic bioassay, which allows scientists to measure more than one substance in blood or body fluids. This method enabled Vane and his colleagues at the Royal College to prove that prostaglandins are produced by many tissues and organs in the body. Further research led the scientists to discover that, unlike hormones, certain prostaglandins are effective only in the areas where they were formed.
In 1966, Vane advanced to professor of experimental pharmacology at the Institute for Basic Medical Sciences and continued his studies. An experiment he conducted in 1969 resulted in the discovery of the methods by which aspirin alleviates pain and reduces inflammation. Using the lung tissue of guinea pigs, Vane found that aspirin inhibited the production of a certain prostaglandin that causes inflammation. He published the results in a June, 1971, issue of Nature New Biology, a science magazine.
In 1973, Vane resigned his post at the Institute to enter the business world as director of research and development at the Wellcome Foundation, a pharmaceutical company. Following up on research by the Swedish chemist Bengt Samuelsson (who found that a type of prostaglandin was responsible for allowing blood to clot), Vane discovered the existence of a prostaglandin with the opposite quality, which inhibits clot formation. With the assistance of the Upjohn Chemical Corporation, Vane isolated the secretion, which he named prostacyclin. This discovery proved to be of great assistance in dissolving clots blocking the blood supply in stroke and heart attack victims and is useful for keeping blood from clotting during surgery. Scientists have discovered even more uses for prostaglandins, including the treatment of ulcers, alleviating pain from menstruation and gallstones, and stimulating contractions for childbirth.
Vane, along with Samuelsson and Swedish chemist Sune Bergström, received an Albert Lasker Basic Medical Research Award in 1977 for his work on prostaglandins. Five years later, the Nobel Committee gave the trio the Nobel Prize for medicine or physiology. After receiving the award, Vane predicted that future research on prostaglandins would create major breakthroughs in the areas of medicine. "In the next 20 years we should see a substantial attack on the disease process," Time quoted him as saying. "We will be able to find new drugs that have effects on cardiovascular disease, on asthma, on heart attack," and even health problems associated with old age, the magazine reported.
During the 1980s Vane embarked on a crusade for greater research on new drugs to fight both new diseases (such as acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, known as AIDS) and drug-resistant strains of old diseases, such as malaria. In articles for scientific and medical journals, he stressed the need for greater international cooperation in the search for a cure or vaccine for AIDS and advocated the creation of an Institute for Tropical Diseases to research new drugs to battle disease in the tropics.
Vane's professional activities also include memberships in the British Pharmacological Society and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. A popular lecturer, he has received more than a dozen awards for his accomplishments. In addition to the many hours he devotes to his work, Vane finds time for his hobbies of photography, travel, snorkeling, and water-skiing.
Recent Updates
November 19, 2004: Vane died on November 19, 2004, in Fanborough, England. Source:New York Times, www.nytimes.com, November 23, 2004.
November 19, 2004: Vane died on November 19, 2004, in Farnborough, England. Source:New York Times, www.nytimes.com, November 23, 2004.
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