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In
the mid-1960s, Rodbell was studying enzymes.
At that time, the only test medium available was crude chunks
of fat tissue. To get more precise results, Rodbell developed
a method for isolating single fat cells from the fat tissue.
Because fat floats, Rodbell first put the minced tissue in a
liquid and then treated the floating cells with a substance
called collagenase to separate the fat cells from other cells.
To confirm for the Nobel laureate Bernardo
Houssay, who was visiting
Rodbell's laboratory, that these cells were viable, Rodbell
showed that the cells reacted normally to the hormone
insulin. This was a turning point in his career—Rodbell's
focus shifted from studying the metabolism of fat to examining
the actions of hormones.
The procedure for isolating fat cells was a boon to hormone
research, because fat cells respond to a wide variety of hormones.
No one before had been able to study hormones' effects on cells
this way. Many researchers began using Rodbell's method, making
his paper "The Metabolism of Isolated Fat Cells" one of the
most widely cited in the field.
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Rodbell's
1980 commentary on his 1964 paper, which became a "Citation
Classic."
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| Fat
cells isolated by Rodbell's method. |
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First
Image: Reproduced with Permission from ISI (R).
Original material published in Current Contents, Number 45,
November 10, 1980
Second Image: Courtesy of the Rodbell Family
Third Image: Courtesy of Dr. May-Jan Zarnowski and
Dr. Joseph Brzostawski, NIDDK
For Section
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