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Harold L. Dorris
Neurological Research Institute
Tamas Bartfai
Noted neuroscientist Tamas Bartfai, Ph.D., is the director of the Harold L. Dorris Neurological Research Center at The Scripps Research Institute. In addition, he holds the Harold L. Dorris Chair in Neuroscience. The center was formed with a $10 million commitment from Helen L. Dorris of San Diego.
Professor Bartfai is former head of central nervous system research at Hoffman-La Roche, in Basel, Switzerland. Most of his professional career was spent in academia at Stockholm University, most recently as Chairman, Department of Neurochemistry and Neurotoxicity. Born in Budapest, Hungary, he received his undergraduate education there at Eotvos Lorand University and a Ph.D. in biochemistry at Stockholm
University. He has served as a visiting scientist at Hadassah-Hebrew University Medical School, Jerusalem; Yale University Medical School; and the Neuropsychiatric Institute at University of California, Los Angeles. Bartfai holds Adjunct Professor appointments at Rockefeller University and Stanford University.
Bartfai's work has been directed toward several scientific topics during his 27-year career in physiological chemistry. Most notably, he has made contributions in the fields of the molecular/biochemical basis of cognition, and the molecular/biochemical basis of fever. His work has implications for such diseases as depression, Alzheimer's disease, schizophrenia and sleep disorders. Involved in the development of psychopharmaceutical agents for the last 20 years, he developed Zimelidine, the first selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) and two anti-psychotic agents used in the treatment of schizophrenia.
Recently, he elucidated the molecular mechanism of a new kind of antidepressant, substance P antagonist, which modifies a previously untapped neurochemical system. This finding may lead to the development of new and more effective drug targets against depression, as well as anxiety disorders and schizophrenia. His work on the design, synthesis and biochemical and pharmacological application of the first galanin antagonists was essential for the elucidation of the biological effects of galanin in depression, cognition and pain, and led to the three galanin receptors becoming the target of more than 20 projects in the pharmaceutical industry.
The author of some 300 scientific publications, Bartfai is the recipient of numerous prestigious research awards, including the Eotvos Prize in Chemistry, the Svedberg Prize and the Eriksson Prize. In addition, he has been named a Senior Fullbright Fellow as well as a Fellow of The Neuroscience Institute.
The new center is designed to bring a dedicated effort to providing education and conducting research into neurological disorders, including schizophrenia and Alzheimer's disease, as well as advancing knowledge of the process of aging of the brain.
News and Views Article: Memory, Pain, Depression, and Peptides...Putting the Pieces Together
Curriculum Vitae
1948 Born in Budapest, Hungary
1966-1971 Studies in Physics and Chemistry at Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest
1971-1973 Graduate studies in Biochemistry at Stockholm University, Department of Biochemistry (Chairman Lars Ernster, supervisor Bengt Mannervik)
1973 Ph D; Biochemistry
1975 Associate Professor of Biochemistry (Docent), Stockholm University
1986- Professor of Biochemistry (especially Neurochemistry)
1992- Chairman; Department of Neurochemistry and Neurotoxicology, Stockholm University
1997- Head of Central Nervous System Research, Hoffmann-La Roche, Basel, on leave from Stockholm University, Roche, Basel,
1998 Stellvert.Vice direktör(seniorVP)
1998 Professor of Medicinal Chemistry, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
1999 Placed as No 1, Chair of Neuropharmacology, Basel, Switzerland
2000 Professor, Department of Neuropharmacology, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA
2000 Director, The Harold L. Dorris Neurological Research Center, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA
Ongoing Research Projects
Galanin a neuropeptide involved in cognition, pain and depression
Neurobiology of Fever
Interleukin-1 as a neuromodulator
Editorial Boards
Nature, Drug Discovery Mechanisms, Editor in Chief, Molecular Pharmacology, Editorial Board Referee European
Journal Neuroscience, Journal Neuroscience
Selected References
Bartfai, T. Ekwall, K. and Mannervik, B. Discrimination between steady-state kinetic models of the mechanism of action of yeast glyoxalase I. Biochemistry 12, 387-391 (1973).
Bartfai, T., Anner, J., Schultzberg, M. and Montelius, J. Partial purification and characterization of a muscarinic acetylcholine receptor from rat cerebral cortex. Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 59(2), 725-733 (1974).
Gatt, S. and Bartfai, T. Rate equations and stimulation curves for enzymatic reactions which utilize lipids as substrates. I. Interaction of enzymes with the monomers and micelles of soluble amphiphilic lipids. Biochim. Biophys. Acta 488, 1-12 (1977).
Järv, J., Hedlund, B. and Bartfai, T. Isomerization of the muscarinic receptor-antagonist complex. J. Biol. Chem. 254(13), 5595-5598 (1979).
Alberts, P., Bartfai, T. and Stjärne, L. Site(s) and ionic basis of a-autoinhibition and facilitation of [3H] noradrenaline secretion in guinea-pig vas deferens. J. Physiol. 312, 297-334 (1981).
Lundberg, J.M., Hedlund, B. and Bartfai, T. Vasoactive intestinal polypeptide enhances muscarinic ligand binding in cat submandibular salivary gland. Nature 295, 147-149 (1982).
Hedlund, B., Abens, J. and Bartfai, T. Vasoactive intestinal polypeptide and muscarinic receptors: Supersensitivity induced by long-term atropine treatment. Science 220, 519-521 (1983).
Undén, A., Tatemoto, K., Mutt, V. and Bartfai, T. Neuropeptides Y receptor in the rat brain. Eur. J. Biochem. 145, 525-530 (1984).
Engström, O., Rodmalm, K., Jörnvall, H., Lundquist, G., Kalman, M., Simoncsits, A., Bartfai, T., Löfdahl, S. and Askelöf, A. Characterization of the N-terminal structure of pertussis toxin subunit Sl and hybridization of oligodeoxyribonucleotide probes with a Bordetella pertussis DNA fragment. FEMS Microbiol. Lett. 36, 219-223 (1986).
Fisone, G., Wu, C., Consolo, S., Nordström, Ö., Brynne, N., Bartfai, T., Melander, T. and Hökfelt, T. Galanin inhibits acetylcholine release in the ventral hippocampus of the rat: Histochemical, autoradiographic, in vivo and in vitro studies. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 84, 7339-7343 (1987).
Bartfai, T., Iverfeldt, K. and Fisone, G. Regulation of the release of coexisting neurotransmitters. Ann. Rev. Pharmacol. and Toxicol. 28, 285-310 (1988).
Askelöf, P., Rodmalm, K., Abens, J., Undén, A. and Bartfai, T. Use of synthetic peptides to map antigenic sites of Bordetella pertussis toxin subunit S1. J. Inf. Dis. 157(4), 738-742 (1988).
Fisone, G., Langel, U., Carlquist, M., Bergman, T., Consolo, S., Hökfelt, T., Undén, A., Andell, S. and Bartfai, T. Galanin receptor and its ligands in the rat hippocampus. Eur. J. Biochem. 181, 269-276 (1989).
Bartfai, T., Bedecs, K., Land, T., Langel, Ü., Bertorelli, R., Girotti, P., Consolo, S., Xu, X., Wiesenfeld-Hallin, Z., Nilsson, S., Pieribone, V.A. and Hökfelt, T. M-15: High affinity chimeric peptide that blocks the neuronal actions of galanin in the hippocampus, locus coeruleus and spinal cord. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 88, 10961-10965 (1991).
Bartfai, T., Hökfelt,T. and Langel, Ü. Galanin - a neuroendocrine peptide. Critical Reviews in Neurobiology 7(3/4):229-274 (1993).
Arvidsson, K., Land, T., Langel, Ü., Bartfai, T. and Ehrenberg, A. Solution structure by 2D 1H-NMR of a chimeric peptide recognized by galanin and neuropeptide Y receptors. Biochemistry 32, 7787-7798 (1993).
Bartfai, T. Galanin: A neuropeptide with important CNS actions. In: Psychopharmacology: The Fourth Generation of Progress (F.E. Bloom and D.J. Kupfer, eds.) Raven Press, Ltd., New York, pp 563-571 (1995).
Alheim, K., Chai, Z., Fantuzzi, G., Hasanvan, H., Malinowsky, D., Di Santo, E., Ghezzi, P., Dinarello, C. and Bartfai, T. Hyperresponsive febrile reactions to interleukin (IL) 1a and IL-1b? and altered brain cytokine mRNA and serum cytokine levels, in IL-1b-deficient mice. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 94, 2681-2686 (1997).
Östenson, C.-G., Zaitsev, S., Berggren, P.-O., Efendic, S., Langel, Ü. and Bartfai, T. Galparan, a powerful insulin-releasing chimeric peptide acting at a novel site. Endocrinology 138, 3308-3313, (1998).
Pooga, M., Soomets, U., Hällbrink, M., Valkna, A., Saar, K., Rezaei, K., Kahl, U., Hao, J.-X., Xu, X.-J., Wiesenfeld-Hallin, Z., Hökfelt, T., Bartfai, T. and Langel, Ü. Cell penetrating PNA constructs regulate galanin receptor levels and modify pain transmission in vivo. Nature Biotechnology 16, 857-861 (1998).
Sundgren-Andersson, A.K., Östlund, P. and Bartfai, T. IL-6 is essential in TNF-a-induced fever. Am. J. Physiol. 275, R2028-R2034 (1998).
Dinarello, CA, Gatti, S, Bartfai, T. Fever: links with an ancient receptor. Curr Biol. 9, R147-50 (1999).
Rezaei, K., Saar, K., Soomets, U., Valkna, A., Schroeder, T., Näsman, J., Zilmer, M., Åkerman, K., Zorko, M., Bartfai, T. and Langel, Ü. Third intracellular loop of galanin receptor type 1 in signal transduction. Neuropeptides, 34:25-31, 2000.
Nalivaeva NN, Rybakina EG, Pivanovich IYu, Kozinets IA, Shanin SN, Bartfai T. Activation of neutral sphingomyelinase by IL-1beta requires the type 1 interleukin 1 receptor. Cytokine. 12:229-232, (2000).
Polentarutti N, Bottazzi B, Di Santo E, Blasi E, Agnello D, Ghezzi P, Introna M, Bartfai T, Richards G, Mantovani A. Inducible expression of the long pentraxin PTX3 in the central nervous system. J Neuroimmunol. 106:87-94, (2000).
Bazzoni G, Martinez-Estrada OM, Mueller F, Nelboeck P, Schmid G, Bartfai T, Dejana E, Brockhaus M. Homophilic interaction of Junctional Adhesion Molecule. J Biol Chem. 275:30970-6, (2000).
Vezzani, AM, Moneta, D, Conti, M, Richichi, C, Ravizza, T, De Luigi, A, De Simoni, MG, Sperk, G, Andell-Jonsson, S, Lundkvist, J, Iverfeldt, K, Bartfai, T. Powerful anticonvulsant action of IL-1 receptor antagonist upon intracerebral injection and astrocytic overexpression in mice. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA. 97:11534-9, (2000).
Xu, XJ, Hökfelt, T, Bartfai, T, Wiesenfeld-Hallin, Z. Galanin and spinal nociceptive mechanisms: recent advances and therapeutic implications. Neuropeptides. 34:137-147, (2000).
Jansson A, Lippoldt A, Mazel T, Bartfai T, Ogren SO, Sykova E, Agnati LF, Fuxe K. Long distance signalling in volume transmission. Focus on clearance mechanisms. Prog Brain Res.125:399-413, (2000).
Khalil A, Tullus K, Bartfai T, Bakhiet M, Jaremko G, Brauner A. Renal cytokine responses in acute Escherichia coli pyelonephritis in IL-6-deficient mice. Clin Exp Immunol. 122:200-206, (2000).
Jansson A, Lippoldt A, Mazel T, Bartfai T, Ogren SO, Sykova E, Agnati LF, Fuxe K. Long distance signalling in volume transmission. Focus on clearance mechanisms. Prog Brain Res. 2000;125:399-413.
Rezaei, K, Xu, IS, Wu, W-P, Shi, T-J, Soomets, U, Land, T, Xu, X-J, Wiesenfeld-Hallin, Z, Hökfelt, T, Bartfai, T, Langel, U. Intratechal administration of PNA targeting galanin receptor reduces galanin mediated inhibitory effect in the rat spinal cord. Neuroreport. 12:317-320, (2001).
Blakeman, K-H, Holmberg, K, Hao, J-X, Xu, X-J, Kahl, U, Lendahl, U, Bartfai, T, Wiesenfeld-Hallin, Z, Hökfelt, T. Mice overexpressing galanin have elevated heat nociceptive threshold. Neuroreport 12:423-425, (2001).
Bartfai T. Immunology: Telling the brain about pain. Nature. 410:425-427, (2001).
Gomez, M, De Castro, E, Guarin, E, Sasakura, H, Kuhara, A, Mori, I, Bartfai, T, Bargmann, CI, Nef, P. Ca2+ signaling via the neuronal calcium sensor-1 regulated associative learning and memory in C. elegans. Neuron 30:1-20, (2001).
Gatti, S., Vezzani, A., Bartfai, T. Putative role of IL-1/IL-1ra in febrile seizures. In: Febriel Seizures (ed. Baram, T.Z., Shinnar, S.) Academic Press, San Diego, 2001, in press.
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