Ludwik Gross
Encyclopedia
Ludwik Gross was a Polish-American virologist who discovered two different tumor viruses, murine leukemia virus
and mouse polyomavirus
, capable of causing cancers in laboratory mice. Gross was born in Cracow, Poland to a prominent Jewish family and studied for a degree in medicine at the Jagiellonian University
. He escaped Poland in 1940 after the 1939 Nazi invasion and travelled to the United States, ultimately serving in the US armed forces during World War II
.
After the war, he joined other scientists (notably Rosalyn Yalow, recipient of the 1977 Nobel Prize in Medicine or Physiology) in the "Golden Age" of research at the Bronx VA Hospital, becoming director of the Cancer Research Division. One story claims that this appointment allowed him to move his research mice from the trunk of his car, where he had been carrying out studies, into a fully equipped laboratory.
Gross was a major proponent of the possibility that some cancers can be caused by viruses and began a long search for viral causes of murine leukemia. In the course of these studies, he isolated the Gross murine leukemia virus
strain as well as the first polyomavirus
--so named for its proclivity to cause cancers in multiple tissue types. Gross murine leukemia virus
is a retrovirus
whose counterpart in humans is human T cell lymphotropic virus I (HTLV-I) , while murine polyomavirus is closely related to the human Merkel cell polyomavirus
that causes most forms of Merkel cell carcinoma
. Thus, Gross identified two critical animal viruses that serve as models for viruses causing cancer in humans. His encyclopedic textbook "Oncogenic Viruses" is still considered a leading source book for early work in the discovery of viruses causing cancer. Ironically, he died of stomach cancer, a major cancer caused by infection with Helicobacter pylori
.
Murine leukemia virus
The murine leukemia viruses are retroviruses named for their ability to cause cancer in murine hosts. Some MLVs may infect other vertebrates. MLVs include both exogenous and endogenous viruses...
and mouse polyomavirus
Polyomavirus
Polyomavirus is the sole genus of viruses within the family Polyomaviridæ. Murine polyomavirus was the first polyomavirus discovered by Ludwik Gross in 1953. Subsequently, many polyomaviruses have been found to infect birds and mammals...
, capable of causing cancers in laboratory mice. Gross was born in Cracow, Poland to a prominent Jewish family and studied for a degree in medicine at the Jagiellonian University
Jagiellonian University
The Jagiellonian University was established in 1364 by Casimir III the Great in Kazimierz . It is the oldest university in Poland, the second oldest university in Central Europe and one of the oldest universities in the world....
. He escaped Poland in 1940 after the 1939 Nazi invasion and travelled to the United States, ultimately serving in the US armed forces during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
After the war, he joined other scientists (notably Rosalyn Yalow, recipient of the 1977 Nobel Prize in Medicine or Physiology) in the "Golden Age" of research at the Bronx VA Hospital, becoming director of the Cancer Research Division. One story claims that this appointment allowed him to move his research mice from the trunk of his car, where he had been carrying out studies, into a fully equipped laboratory.
Gross was a major proponent of the possibility that some cancers can be caused by viruses and began a long search for viral causes of murine leukemia. In the course of these studies, he isolated the Gross murine leukemia virus
Murine leukemia virus
The murine leukemia viruses are retroviruses named for their ability to cause cancer in murine hosts. Some MLVs may infect other vertebrates. MLVs include both exogenous and endogenous viruses...
strain as well as the first polyomavirus
Polyomavirus
Polyomavirus is the sole genus of viruses within the family Polyomaviridæ. Murine polyomavirus was the first polyomavirus discovered by Ludwik Gross in 1953. Subsequently, many polyomaviruses have been found to infect birds and mammals...
--so named for its proclivity to cause cancers in multiple tissue types. Gross murine leukemia virus
Murine leukemia virus
The murine leukemia viruses are retroviruses named for their ability to cause cancer in murine hosts. Some MLVs may infect other vertebrates. MLVs include both exogenous and endogenous viruses...
is a retrovirus
Retrovirus
A retrovirus is an RNA virus that is duplicated in a host cell using the reverse transcriptase enzyme to produce DNA from its RNA genome. The DNA is then incorporated into the host's genome by an integrase enzyme. The virus thereafter replicates as part of the host cell's DNA...
whose counterpart in humans is human T cell lymphotropic virus I (HTLV-I) , while murine polyomavirus is closely related to the human Merkel cell polyomavirus
Merkel cell polyomavirus
Merkel cell polyomavirus was first described in January 2008. MCV is one of seven known human tumor viruses. It is suspected to cause the majority of cases of Merkel cell carcinoma, a rare but aggressive form of skin cancer. Approximately 80% of Merkel cell carcinoma tumors have been found to be...
that causes most forms of Merkel cell carcinoma
Merkel cell carcinoma
Merkel cell carcinoma Merkel cell carcinoma Merkel cell carcinoma (also known as a "Cutaneous apudoma," "Primary neuroendocrine carcinoma of the skin," "Primary small cell carcinoma of the skin," and "Trabecular carcinoma of the skin"...
. Thus, Gross identified two critical animal viruses that serve as models for viruses causing cancer in humans. His encyclopedic textbook "Oncogenic Viruses" is still considered a leading source book for early work in the discovery of viruses causing cancer. Ironically, he died of stomach cancer, a major cancer caused by infection with Helicobacter pylori
Helicobacter pylori
Helicobacter pylori , previously named Campylobacter pyloridis, is a Gram-negative, microaerophilic bacterium found in the stomach. It was identified in 1982 by Barry Marshall and Robin Warren, who found that it was present in patients with chronic gastritis and gastric ulcers, conditions that were...
.
Scientific Awards
- R.R. de Villiers Foundation (Leukemia Society) Award for Leukemia Research (1953)
- Walker Prize of the Royal College of Surgeons of England in London (1961)
- Pasteur Silver Medal of the Pasteur Institute in Paris (1962)
- WHO United Nations Prize for Cancer Research (1962)
- Bertner Foundation Award (1963)
- Special Virus Cancer Program Award of the National Cancer Institute (1972)
- Albert Lasker Basic Medical Research Award (1974)
- Principal 1978 Paul Ehrlich-Ludwig Darmstaeder Prize in Frankfurt
- Griffuel Prize in Paris (1978).
- Elected to the National Academy of Sciences (1973)
- French Legion of Honor (1977).
External references
- NIH Paper Collection of Ludwik Gross http://oculus.nlm.nih.gov/cgi/f/findaid/findaid-idx?c=nlmfindaid;id=navbarbrowselink;cginame=findaid-idx;cc=nlmfindaid;view=reslist;subview=standard;didno=gross;focusrgn=frontmatter;byte=12181623
- NY Times Obituary http://www.nytimes.com/1999/07/22/us/ludwik-gross-a-trailblazer-in-cancer-research-dies-at-94.html
- Oncogenic Viruses. Ludwik Gross. Pergamon, New York, 1961. xi + 391 pp. (1st Ed.)http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/citation/135/3504/661-b through 3rd Ed, 1983, 1203 pp.