Alex J. van der Eb

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Alex J. van der Eb (* 1934 ) is a Dutch cell biologist .

Life

Van der Eb studied biology at the University of Leiden . In 1961 he had his doctoral examination. In 1968 he received his doctorate on the gene structure of the adenovirus. He was then a professor in Leiden. He is now Professor Emeritus at the Laboratory for Molecular Carcinogenesis.

In 1966 he characterized the DNA of the adenovirus (consisting of 35,000 base pairs in a double strand) simultaneously with M. Green in the work for his dissertation .

Around 1973 he developed important techniques for cell biology at his laboratory in Leiden . It was there in 1972 that the HEK cell line, which is still widely used in molecular biology and genetic engineering, was created from embryonic kidney cells manipulated with an adenovirus (4000 to 5000 bases of the virus were built into the genome). More precisely, it is the HEK-293 line. Similar experiments had been less successful before in the 1960s. Was also involved Frank L. Graham , a Canadian post-doctoral researcher, who shortly thereafter to the McMaster University went. Variants of the cell line use the SV-40 virus (HEK 293 T) or the Epstein-Barr virus (HEK 293 EBNA), in which the plasmids of the corresponding viruses can be used.

Graham and van Eb also developed a second important technique in the laboratory, transfection (introduction of DNA into mammalian cells) with the help of calcium phosphate.

The PER C 6 cell line (from the retinal eye cells of an embryo) was developed in 1985 in van Eb's laboratory especially for pharmaceutical genetic engineering with the adenovirus .

Van der Eb and Graham were also the first to succeed in 1974 in converting normal cells into tumor cells with the help of part of the DNA of a virus (the adenovirus). They also determined the gene responsible for this (E-1 gene). They worked with Carel Mulder ( Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory ), from whom they got the restriction enzymes to cut the virus DNA.

He later dealt with the conversion of normal cells into cancer cells with carcinogens such as UV radiation and other ionizing radiation (and their general influence on genetic stability) and with gene therapy.

In 1989 he received the Robert Koch Prize .

He is a member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Sciences , Academia Europaea and the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO). He is the bearer of the Order of the Dutch Lion (Knight).

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Physico-chemical and biological properties of the DNA from dierlijke tumorvirussen, s'Gravenhagen, JH Pasmans 1968
  2. ^ HEK for Human Embryonic Kidney Cell
  3. ↑ From an aborted fetus
  4. ↑ To the HEK 293 cell line ( Memento from October 16, 2014 in the Internet Archive )
  5. ^ DJ Th. Wagner: History of Oncology , Springer, 2009, p. 42
  6. ↑ Anselmus Colloquium, Gene Therapy 1998, Dutch, with a short biography, pdf
personal data
SURNAME Eb, Alex J. van der
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Dutch cell biologist
DATE OF BIRTH 1934