De Duve , Christian René

De Duve , Christian René
(1917–) Belgian biochemist
De Duve was born at Thames Ditton in southern England and educated at the Catholic University of Louvain where he obtained his MD in 1941. After holding brief appointments at the Nobel Institute in Stockholm and at Washington University he returned to Louvain in 1947 and was appointed professor of biochemistry in 1951. From 1962 to 1988 he held a similar appointment at Rockefeller University in New York.
In 1949 de Duve was working on the metabolism of carbohydrates in the liver of the rat. By using centrifugal fractionation techniques to separate the contents of the cell, he was able to show that the enzyme glucose-6-phosphatase is associated with the microsomes – organelles whose role was only speculative until de Duve began this work. He also noted that the process of homogenization led to the release of the enzyme acid phosphatase, the amount of which seemed to vary with the degree of damage inflicted on the cells. This suggested to de Duve that the enzyme in the cell was normally enclosed by some kind of membrane. If true, the supposition would remove a problem that had long troubled cytologists – namely how it was that such powerful enzymes did not attack the normal molecules of the cell. This question could now be answered by proposing a self-contained organelle, which neatly isolated the digestive enzymes. Confirmation for this view came in 1955 with the identification of such a body with the aid of the electron microscope. As its role is digestive or lytic, de Duve proposed the name ‘lysosome’. The peroxisomes (organelles containing hydrogen peroxide in which oxidation reactions take place) were also discovered in de Duve's laboratory.
For such discoveries de Duve shared the 1974 Nobel Prize for physiology or medicine with Albert Claude and George Palade.

Scientists. . 2011.

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  • Duve, Christian René de — ▪ Belgian biochemist born Oct. 2, 1917, Thames Ditton, Surrey, Eng.       Belgian cytologist and biochemist who discovered lysosomes (lysosome) (the digestive organelles of the cell) and peroxisomes (organelles that are the site of metabolic… …   Universalium

  • Christian de Duve — de Duve, Christian Rene Born October 2, 1917 (1917 10 02) (age 94) Thames Ditton, Surrey, Great Britain Institutions …   Wikipedia

  • Christian de Duve — Christian René de Duve (* 2. Oktober 1917 in Thames Ditton, Großbritannien) ist ein belgischer Biochemiker und Nobelpreisträger.[1] Inhaltsverzeichnis 1 Leben und Werk 2 Veröffentlichungen …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Duve —   [dyːv], Christian René de, belgischer Biochemiker, * Thames Ditton (County Surrey) 2. 10. 1917; lehrte seit 1962 an der Rockefeller Universität in New York. Duve arbeitete zunächst über Insulin und Glucagon. Er befasste sich dann besonders mit… …   Universal-Lexikon

  • Duve — /dyuu veuh/, n. Christian René de /krddees tyahonn rddeuh nay deuh/, born 1917, Belgian biologist, born in England: Nobel prize for medicine 1974. * * * …   Universalium

  • Duve — /dyuu veuh/, n. Christian René de /krddees tyahonn rddeuh nay deuh/, born 1917, Belgian biologist, born in England: Nobel prize for medicine 1974. * * * duv(e obs. forms of dove …   Useful english dictionary

  • de Duve — Christian René …   Scientists

  • de Duve — /deuh dyuu veuh/ Christian René /krddees tyahonn rddeuh nay /. See Duve, Christian René de. * * * …   Universalium

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