First ladies in laying the foundation of neuroendocrinology

Abstract

Although women were welcomed into medical practice in increasing numbers by the close of the nineteenth century, it was not until the second quarter of the twentieth century that they were recognised as valuable collaborators and contributors in the nascent field of neuroendocrinology, wherein they soon made advances that have stood the test of time. Mary Pickford at Edinburgh measured the action of acetyl choline in the supraoptic nucleus of the hypothalamus and helped to establish that vasopressin and oxytocin are formed in separate and distinct neurons. Berta Scharrer, like her future husband Ernest Scharrer, was born in Munich. Their great contribution was the proof that the posterior pituitary is not a gland, but the location of the release into the circulation of vasopressin and oxytocin from fibres in the hypothalamico-hypophysial tract. Their work succeeded in establishing against high-powered, vehement opposition the value of histological evidence in elucidating synthesis, storage and release of secretion from neuro-endocrine cells. A Rockefeller travelling fellowship allowed Marthe Vogt to move from Berlin in 1932 to London and then to Cambridge. The relations between the cortex and medulla of the suprarenal gland and the control of adrenocorticotropin were her main concerns. Dora Jacobsohn emigrated to Sweden after graduating in Berlin in 1934. She investigated control of the anterior pituitary gland by the hypothalamus, and co-operated with Geoffrey Harris in establishing the role of the hypothalamico-hypophysial portal venous system that conveys the releasing factors that preside over anterior pituitary cells. Laboratory discoveries do not constitute the whole of science, for the interpretation of evidence and recognition of general principles deserve attention. Dorothy Price, from Aurora, Illinois, received her BS in 1922 at the University of Chicago, and was glad to find employment as a histology technician in the zoology laboratory, where she was quietly appropriated by Carl Moore (1892-1955), an investigator seeking the key to hormonal control of gonadal function. The burning question was the part played by what was (then) called hormone antagonism in the biology of the testis. Price recognised that the common factor in explaining the deleterious effects of oestrin and testosterone on the testes could be traced to the anterior pituitary: the pituitary controlled testicular secretion, and the male hormone in turn controlled gonadotropin release in the pituitary. This seesaw balance explained the problem, and was the first of many regulatory systems to be recognised as ensuring stability--and later became known as negative feedback. The contributions of these five women helped place neuro-endocrinology on a firm foundation for its later expansion.