Ignarro, Louis J.

Ignarro, Louis J.

▪ American scientist
in full  Louis Joseph Ignarro 
born May 31, 1941, Brooklyn, N.Y., U.S.

      American pharmacologist who, along with Robert F. Furchgott (Furchgott, Robert F.) and Ferid Murad (Murad, Ferid), was co-awarded the 1998 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for the discovery that nitric oxide (NO) acts as a signaling molecule in the cardiovascular system. This work uncovered an entirely new mechanism by which blood vessels (blood vessel) in the body relax and widen.

      Ignarro studied at Columbia University, earning a bachelor's degree in pharmacy in 1962. He received his Ph.D. in pharmacology from the University of Minnesota in 1966. In 1979 he became a professor of pharmacology at Tulane University's School of Medicine in New Orleans, a position he held until becoming a professor of pharmacology at the University of California, Los Angeles, in 1985.

      Studies on the chemical compound for which Ignarro would win the Nobel Prize began to emerge in the 1970s and '80s. First, in 1977, Murad showed that nitroglycerin and several related heart drugs increase the diameter of blood vessels in the body. Then, around 1980 Furchgott demonstrated that cells in the endothelium, or inner lining, of blood vessels produce an unknown signaling molecule, which he named endothelium-derived relaxing factor (EDRF). EDRF signals the smooth muscle cells in blood vessel walls to relax, thereby dilating the vessels.

      Ignarro's role in the study of nitric oxide was a series of analyses that finally identified the factor that Furchgott had named EDRF as nitric oxide. Ignarro's research, conducted in 1986, was done independently of Furchgott's work to identify EDRF. It was the first discovery that a gas could act as a signaling molecule in a living organism. Furchgott and Ignarro announced their findings at a scientific conference in 1986 and triggered an international boom in research on nitric oxide. The applications for nitric oxide, once its role was understood, were many. For instance, the principle behind the successful anti-impotence drug sildenafil citrate (Viagra) was based upon this research. Researchers suggested that nitric oxide could be a key to improved treatments for heart disease, shock, and cancer.

      Murad and Ignarro collaborated on Nitric Oxide: Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, and Therapeutic Implications (1995). Ignarro wrote NO More Heart Disease: How Nitric Oxide Can Prevent—Even Reverse—Heart Disease and Strokes (2005).

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • Ignarro , Louis J. — (1941–) American pharmacologist Ignarro, who was born in Brooklyn, New York, graduated with a BA in pharmacy from Columbia University in 1962 and four years later gained his PhD in pharmacology at the University of Minnesota. From 1979 to 1985 he …   Scientists

  • Ignarro, Louis J(oseph) — born May 31, 1941, Brooklyn, N.Y., U.S. U.S. pharmacologist. He earned a Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota. Along with Robert F. Furchgott and Ferid Murad, Ignarro was awarded a 1998 Nobel Prize for the discovery that nitric oxide acts as a… …   Universalium

  • Ignarro, Louis J(oseph) — (n. 31 may. 1941, Brooklyn, N.Y., EE.UU.). Farmacólogo estadounidense. Obtuvo un Ph.D. en la Universidad de Minnesota. En 1998 compartió el Premio Nobel con Robert F. Furchgott y Ferid Murad, por descubrir que el óxido nítrico actúa como molécula …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Ignarro — Louis J …   Scientists

  • Louis Ignarro — Louis J. Ignarro es un farmacéutico estadounidense, ganador del premio Nobel. Louis J. Ignarro Nacimiento 31 de mayo de 1941 (70 años) Brooklyn (Nueva York) …   Wikipedia Español

  • Ignarro — Louis J. Ignarro Louis José Ignarro (* 31. Mai 1941 in Brooklyn, New York City) ist ein US amerikanischer Wissenschaftler. Ignarro besuchte die Central Grade School und die Long Beach High School, dann studierte er bis 1962 Chemie und… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Louis Ignarro — Louis J. Ignarro Louis J. Ignarro. Louis J. Ignarro est un pharmacologiste américain, né en 1941 à Brooklyn (New York). Il a effectué des études de pharmacie à l université Columbia et de pharmacologie à Los Angeles. Il est titulaire d un… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Louis J. Ignarro — Louis José Ignarro (* 31. Mai 1941 in Brooklyn, New York City) ist ein US amerikanischer Wissenschaftler. Ignarro besuchte die Central Grade School und die Long Beach High School, dann studierte er bis 1962 Chemie und Pharmakologie an der C …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Louis J. Ignarro — Louis J. Ignarro. Louis J. Ignarro est un pharmacologiste américain, né en 1941 à Brooklyn (New York). Il a effectué des études de pharmacie à l université Columbia et de pharmacologie à Los Angeles. Il est titulaire d un Doctorat en… …   Wikipédia en Français

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