Nils-Åke Hillarp (4 July 1916 – 17 March 1965) was a
Swedish
Swedish or ' may refer to:
Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically:
* Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland
** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...
scientist and a prominent force in research on the brain's
monoamines
Monoamine neurotransmitters are neurotransmitters and neuromodulators that contain one amino group connected to an aromatic ring by a two-carbon chain (such as -CH2-CH2-). Examples are dopamine, norepinephrine and serotonin.
All monoamines are ...
.
Biography
Hillarp was the son of merchant Nils Bengtsson and Hulda, former Johansson, and the brother of Rut Hillarp, a novelist. He became Doctor of Medical Science (equivalent to a Ph.D.) in 1946.
He was appointed assistant and later associate professor of
Histology
Histology,
also known as microscopic anatomy or microanatomy, is the branch of biology which studies the microscopic anatomy of biological tissues. Histology is the microscopic counterpart to gross anatomy, which looks at larger structures vis ...
at the
University of Lund
, motto = Ad utrumque
, mottoeng = Prepared for both
, established =
, type = Public research university
, budget = SEK 9 billion [University of Gothenburg
The University of Gothenburg ( sv, Göteborgs universitet) is a university in Sweden's second largest city, Gothenburg. Founded in 1891, the university is the third-oldest of the current Swedish universities and with 37,000 students and 6000 st ...]
,
then in 1962 he became full professor of histology at the
Karolinska Institute
The Karolinska Institute (KI; sv, Karolinska Institutet; sometimes known as the (Royal) Caroline Institute in English) is a research-led medical university in Solna within the Stockholm urban area of Sweden. The Karolinska Institute is consist ...
in
Stockholm, Sweden
Stockholm () is the capital and largest city of Sweden as well as the largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people live in the municipality, with 1.6 million in the urban area, and 2.4 million in the metropoli ...
where he remained until his death in 1965.
Research
Hillarp's research on the terminal fiber system of the
autonomic nervous system
The autonomic nervous system (ANS), formerly referred to as the vegetative nervous system, is a division of the peripheral nervous system that supplies viscera, internal organs, smooth muscle and glands. The autonomic nervous system is a control ...
was of significant importance, as was his work on the mechanics of nerve impulse transmission. Perhaps his most important research was with
Bengt Falck, as they together developed the widely known
Falck-Hillarp fluorescence method.
This method made it possible to transform certain monoamines, specifically
serotonin
Serotonin () or 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) is a monoamine neurotransmitter. Its biological function is complex and multifaceted, modulating mood, cognition, reward, learning, memory, and numerous physiological processes such as vomiting and vas ...
(5-hydroxitryptamine) and the three cathecolamines
dopamine
Dopamine (DA, a contraction of 3,4-dihydroxyphenethylamine) is a neuromodulatory molecule that plays several important roles in cells. It is an organic compound, organic chemical of the catecholamine and phenethylamine families. Dopamine const ...
,
noradrenaline
Norepinephrine (NE), also called noradrenaline (NA) or noradrenalin, is an organic chemical in the catecholamine family that functions in the brain and body as both a hormone and neurotransmitter. The name "noradrenaline" (from Latin '' ad'', ...
,
adrenaline
Adrenaline, also known as epinephrine, is a hormone and medication which is involved in regulating visceral functions (e.g., respiration). It appears as a white microcrystalline granule. Adrenaline is normally produced by the adrenal glands and ...
to fluorescent substances that could be detected on the cellular level by
fluorescence microscopy
A fluorescence microscope is an optical microscope that uses fluorescence instead of, or in addition to, scattering, reflection, and attenuation or absorption, to study the properties of organic or inorganic substances. "Fluorescence microsc ...
.
By this method Hillarp and Falck could demonstrate the presence of these monoamines in the central as well as the
peripheral nervous system
The peripheral nervous system (PNS) is one of two components that make up the nervous system of bilateral animals, with the other part being the central nervous system (CNS). The PNS consists of nerves and ganglia, which lie outside the brain ...
with great precision and susceptibility. This became the first, and also the conclusive, evidence of the function of monoamines as interneuronal signal substances (transmitters).
Accordingly, it was not
Arvid Carlsson
Arvid Carlsson (25 January 1923 – 29 June 2018) was a Swedish neuropharmacologist who is best known for his work with the neurotransmitter dopamine and its effects in Parkinson's disease. For his work on dopamine, Carlsson was awarded the No ...
who had discovered that dopamine is a signal substance in the central nervous system, as stated by the
Nobel Committee
A Nobel Committee is a working body responsible for most of the work involved in selecting Nobel Prize laureates. There are five Nobel Committees, one for each Nobel Prize.
Four of these committees (for prizes in physics, chemistry, physiolog ...
at the Karolinska Institute in a press release in 2000.
They had based their opinion on reports published by Carlsson and co-workers in 1957–1958. However, Carlsson, Falck and Hillarp published a study in 1962, which was based on the Falck-Hillarp fluorescence method on the cellular location of noradrenaline and dopamine in the brain, showing that noradrenaline is located in nerve cells (neurons) and functions as a transmitter. However, they could not ultimately define the cell type that harbors dopamine and were thus not able to state with certainty that dopamine is a transmitter. Obviously, if Carlsson had discovered this in 1957–1958, it would have been referred to and extensively discussed in the Carlsson-Falck-Hillarp publication in 1962. Both Hillarp, at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm and Falck, at the Medical Faculty, University of Lund, had several research assistants, who studied various aspects of transmitters, using the Falck-Hillarp fluorescence method, and it was not long before these two groups had established that dopamine is, indeed, a transmitter.
Hillarp and Falck's work was completed in 1961, published in 1962 and was trailblazing in its field.
One of the publications was cited in more than 2435 publications
and became a part of ''The 200 Most-Cited Papers of All Time'', SCI 1945–1988, see references nr 7.
Many accomplished researchers, were tutored by Hillarp, including
Annica Dahlström
Annica Dahlström (born 1941) is a Swedish physician and Professor Emerita of Histology and Neuroscience at the Department of Medical Chemistry and Cell Biology at Gothenburg University.
Dahlström's research focuses on how nerve cells store and t ...
, Nobel prize winner Arvid Carlsson, Kjell Fuxe, Lars Olsson and
Tomas Hökfelt
Tomas Hökfelt (born 29 June 1940) is a Swedish physician and former professor in histology at the Karolinska Institutet from 1979 until 2006, when he got his emeritate. He was linked to the Department of Neuroscience and is specialized in cell bio ...
.
The 50-year anniversary of the introduction of the Falck-Hillarp method was celebrated by a symposium in Lund on April 27, 2012, entitled "From Nerves to Pills".
Death and legacy
Hillarp died from aggressive malign
melanoma
Melanoma, also redundantly known as malignant melanoma, is a type of skin cancer that develops from the pigment-producing cells known as melanocytes. Melanomas typically occur in the skin, but may rarely occur in the mouth, intestines, or eye ( ...
, 49 years old.
The Hillarp lecture hall at the Karolinska instutet is named after him,
and he has been described as "a person who would change neuroscience in Sweden, in fact worldwide, perhaps more than any other Swedish scientist."
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hillarp, Nils-Ake
1916 births
1965 deaths
Academic staff of Lund University
Academic staff of the Karolinska Institute
Swedish neuroscientists