Vincent du Vigneaud: following the sulfur trail to the discovery of the hormones of the posterior pituitary gland at Cornell Medical College

Abstract

In 1955, Vincent du Vigneaud (1901–1978), the chairman of the Department of Biochemistry at Cornell University Medical College, was awarded the Nobel Prize for Chemistry for his research on insulin and for the first synthesis of the posterior pituitary hormones—oxytocin and vasopressin. His tremendous contribution to organic chemistry, which began as an interest in sulfur-containing compounds, paved the way for a better understanding of the pituitary gland and for the development of diagnostic and therapeutic tools for diseases of the pituitary. His seminal research continues to impact neurologists, endocrinologists, and neurosurgeons, and enables them to treat patients who had no alternatives prior to du Vigneaud’s breakthroughs in peptide structure and synthesis. The ability of neurosurgeons to aggressively operate on parasellar pathology was directly impacted and related to the ability to replace these hormones after surgery. The authors review the life and career of Vincent du Vigneaud, his groundbreaking discoveries, and his legacy of the understanding and treatment of the pituitary gland in health and disease.

Model Roles of the Hypothalamo-Neurohypophysial System in Neuroscience Study

“…From functional studies of circulating nonapeptides that extensively modulate the activities of almost all organ systems, to their brain actions that are represented by the autocrine regulation and prosocial effects, and then to the hidden secretion of peripherally produced OXT and VP that subtly adjust the activities of individual cells, studies on the HNS have been playing a pivotal role in establishing the fundamental principles of the neuroscience and the working models of neuropeptides. These achievements have been excellently reviewed and will not be further presented here [1,2].…”