Hans Kosterlitz

Hans Kosterlitz
Born	27 April 1903 Berlin
Died	26 October 1996
Citizenship	Germany, Great Britain
Nationality	British, German (before 1933)
Fields	Biochemistry
Institutions	University of Aberdeen
Alma mater	Humboldt University of Berlin
Known for	Endorphins
Notable awards	Harvey Prize (1981)

Hans Walter Kosterlitz (27 April 1903 – 26 October 1996) was a German-born British biologist, who graduated Doctor of Medicine (Dr. med) in Berlin. He settled in Scotland and took a Doctor of Science (DSc) at the University of Aberdeen where he was, for many years, Reader in Physiology.

Kosterlitz is best known for his work on endorphins. He performed a famous experiment that he envisioned in a dream while sleeping. He stimulated a strip of guinea pig intestine electrically and was able to record the contractions with a polygraph. He then found that if you added opiates to the solution, the intestine would not contract. Opiates inhibit intestinal contraction. Those contractions were later found to resume in the presence of both opiates and an antagonist such as naloxone. Later, endogenous endorphins were discovered by applying tissue (pig brain cell homegenate) to the apparatus. This caused the contractions to cease. The degree to which an opiate agonist inhibits contractions in the guinea pig ileum is highly correlated to its potency. Kosterlitz shared the Albert Lasker Award with John Hughes and Solomon Snyder in 1978 for his work in the discovery of the opiate receptors and their natural ligands.

He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1978.

The University of Aberdeen officially opens its new Kosterlitz Centre on the 16th September 2010 in memory of Professor Hans Kosterlitz, who joined the University in 1933.

References

• Lees, G M (1998), "A tribute to the late Hans W. Kosterlitz: ploughing the lone furrow.", Can. J. Physiol. Pharmacol. 76 (3): 244–51, 1998 Mar, doi:10.1139/cjpp-76-3-244, PMID 9673787 
• Hughes, J; Kosterlitz, H W; Smith, T W (1997), "The distribution of methionine-enkephalin and leucine-enkephalin in the brain and peripheral tissues. 1977.", Br. J. Pharmacol. 120 (4 Suppl): 428–36; discussion 426–7, 1997 Feb, PMID 9142421 
• Henderson, G; Hughes, J; Kosterlitz, H W (1997), "A new example of a morphine-sensitive neuro-effector junction: adrenergic transmission in the mouse vas deferens. 1972.", Br. J. Pharmacol. 120 (4 Suppl): 396–8; discussion 393–5, 1997 Feb, PMID 9142417 
• Hughes, J (1996), "Hans Kosterlitz (1903-96)", Nature 384 (6608): 418, 1996 Dec 5, doi:10.1038/384418a0, PMID 8945465