Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

Editorial

2003; Karger Publishers; Volume: 77; Issue: 4 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1159/000071380

1423-0194

Andres D. Ramirez, Xingrong Liu, Frank S. Menniti, S.M. Luza, Sandor Arancibia, María Belén Venegas, Hernán E. Lara, Juan P. Advis, Julie Klein, Rodrigo O. Kuljiš, Debina Sarkar, J M McDonald, Cheryl A. Conover, Sukwon Lee, Eonyoung Park, Younghye Moon, Kyungjin Kim, Li Xiao, Lisa Jackson Pulver, Jill B. Becker, Dean E. Dluzen, Christopher Tweed, Linda I. Anderson, Nicholas J. Laping, Jingjing L. Kipp, Victor D. Ramírez, Youngshik Choe, Gi Hoon Son,

The Editorial Board is happy to dedicate a special issue of Neuroendocrinology to Victor Domingo Ramirez, who is retiring this year from his professorship at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.Looking at the articles submitted hereafter by several former students provides a brilliant confirmation of his recognized, pioneering role in the field.Most of his efforts were devoted to elucidate the mode of estrogen actions on the brain.Among the very first to suspect a direct impact of the hormone on cell membranes, he challenged the established opinion that estrogens are only involved in modulating gene transcription through nuclear receptors.Patient gathering of biochemical and physiological evidence allowed him to demonstrate that estrogen binding to the cell surface exhibits all properties of membrane receptors, including stereospecificity and G protein coupling.Besides classical experiments, as those which produced the best models available until today for studying gonadotropin regulation or for measuring neuropeptide release in vivo in free moving animals, Domingo also made important contributions to the mechanisms of steroid actions on neuritic growth, an aspect recalled in the present issue.Taken together, these discoveries are highly relevant to our understanding of the mechanisms of estrogen-induced neuroprotection and modulation of brain development.A major characteristic of Domingo's scientific and personal life has been faithfulness -to his line of research, to his family, friends and students, and to the high idea of justice for which he fought, sometimes at the expense of his own career, under the dramatic circumstances related to the violent disruption of his country's government.On behalf on this faithfulness, we wish him a long-lasting continuation of his contribution to science and to his ideals.