Text of the Redi award presented to Prof. Dr. Ernst Richard Habermann

TEXT OF THE REDI AWARD PRESENTED TO PROF. DR ERNST RICHARD HABERMANN IN RECOGNITION OF AN OUTSTANDING CAREER IN THE FIELD OF TOXINOLOGY WE HONORhim for his outstanding contributions to the field of toxinology. His research spans four decades, during which time he has authored approximately 340 articles and chapters in the major scientific journals and books. Throughout his professional life he has demonstrated outstanding research productivity, based upon strong intellectual creativity and integrity and founded upon a profound knowledge of animal and bacterial toxins. Of special merit are his pioneering studies on bee venom, crotoxin, palytoxin, tetanus and other clostridial toxins. His knowledge, interest and published contributions to science are, however, even broader than this, including the philosophical and historical background of science and medicine and the rational use of drugs with the aid of clinical pharmacy and pharmacology. He has, in addition, throughout his career maintained an active teaching program, encouraging and assisting young scientists and physicians. He was born in G6ssenheim, Germany, in 1926 and graduated from the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Wiirzburg in 1951. Over the next 10 years he was promoted from Assistant at the Pharmacological Institute to Associate Professor of Pharmacology at the University of Wiirzburg. Since 1966 he has been Professor and Director of the Institut fiir Pharmokalogie (now the Rudolf-Buchheim-Institut fiir Pharmakologie) at the Klinikum der Justus-Liebig-Universit/it Giessen. Because of his professional, scientific and administrative abilities he has also served as Dean of the Medical Faculty at Giessen, President of the German Pharmacological Society and Co-editor of NaunynSchmiedebergs Archives of Pharmacology. He has functioned with distinction as a member of the Editorial Council of Toxicon since its founding in 1962. His widely recognized accomplishments have resulted in his receiving the E.K. Frey Award (for work on the plasma kinin system), the Aronson Award (for studies with bacterial toxins), the Feldberg Award, the Bundesverdienstkreuz and his presentation of the Buchheim-Lecture. In a brief paragraph one can only allude to a few brief events in a lifetime filled with scientific highlights. Professor Habermann isolated both toxins and enzymes from bee venom, particularly studying the chemical and pharmacological properties of mellitin, apamin and MCD peptide. His research group independently demonstrated (along with Fraenkel-Conrat's group) that crotoxin (obtained from the venom of the snake Crotalus durissus terrificus) is a binary complex of a phospholipase A 2 and a non-enzymatic protein called crotapotin. His studies on proteolytic agents in snake venoms led to studies on mammalian kinin-releasing enzymes. His extensive investigations into the mechanism of action of the coral toxin called palytoxin (the most potent animal toxin) resulted in our understanding of its interaction with ATPase and the formation of a membrane channel. Finally, extensive research studies of his group on the mechanism of action of clostridial toxins, especially tetanus toxin, deserves a special accolade. By preparing radioiodinated toxin and developing a novel radio-immunoassay he was able to assess the in vivo movements of tetanus toxin in local and generalized tetanus. Using modern biochemical, pharmacological and immunological techniques he was also able to compare and contrast 478

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the properties of tetanus and botulinum toxins. He determined the amino acid sequence of the toxin and he prepared and determined the properties of its heavy and light chains. These and many other accomplishments more than warrant the presentation of this award. The Society greets you Prof. Dr Ernst R. Habermann as the recipient of the Redi Award with the surety that you will continue studying nature for the good of mankind. SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY NEUMANN, W. and HABEgMANN, E. (1954) Beitrfige zur Charakterisierung der Wirkstoffe des Bienengiftes. Naunyn-Schmiedebergs Arch. exp. Path. Pharmak. 222, 367-382. HAaERMANN, E. and NEUMANN, W. (1954) Beitr/ige zur Charakterisierung der wirkaamen Komponenten von Schlangengiften. Naunyn-Schmiedebergs Arch. exp. Path. Pharmak. 223, 388-398. HAnERMANN, E. (1961) Zuordnung pharmakologischer und anzymatischer Wirkungen von Kallikrein und Schlangengiften mittels Diisopropylfluorophosphat und Elektrophorese. Naunyn-Schmiedbergs Arch. exp. Path. Pharmak. 240, 552-572. HAaERMANN, E., KLATT, W. and ROSENBUSCH, G. (1963) Partielle Rainigung und einige Eigenschaften eines Rininogens aus Rinderblut. Hoppe-Seylers Z. physiol. Chem. 332, 121-142. HAaERMANN, E. and KLATT, W. (1966) Reinigung und Eigenschaften eines Kallikrains aus Schweineserum. Biochem. Z. 346, 133-158. HABERMANN, E. and JENTSCH, J. (1967) Sequenzanalyse das Melittins aus den tryptischen und peptischen Spaltstiicken. Hoppe-Seylers Z. Physiol. Chem. 348, 37-50. HAnERMANN, E. (1968) Biochemie, Pharmakologie und Toxikologie der Inhaltsatoffe von Hymenopterengiften. Ergebn. Physiol. 60, 221-325. JAHgRAIS, R. and HABERMANN, E. (1969) Isolierung und Struktur peptischer kininlifernder Peptide aus Rinderserum. Naunyn-Schmiedeberg's Arch. Pharmak. 264, 172-186. HAaERMANN, E., ROgSAMEN, K. and BgEITHAUPT, H. (1971) Biochemistry and pharmacology of the crotoxin complex. I. Subfractionation and recombination of the crotoxin complex. Naunyn-Schmiedebergs Arch. Pharmak. 270, 274-288. HAaEgMANN, E. (1972) Bee and wasp venoms. Science 177, 314. HABEgMANN, E. and DIMPFAL, W. (1973) Distribution of ~25I-tetanus toxin and ~2°I-toxoid in rats with generalized tetanus, as influenced by antitoxin. Naunyn-Schmiedebergs Arch. Pharmac. 276, 327-340. HAaERMANN, E. and CHENG-RAuDE, D. (1975) Central neurotoxicity of apamin, crotamin, phospholipase A and ~t-amanitin. Toxicon 13, 465-473. HASEgMANN, E. and BRAITHAUPT, H. (1978) The crotoxin complex--an example of biochemical and pharmacological protein complementation. Toxicon 16, 19-30. HABEgMANN, E., DgEYER, F. and BIGALKE, n . (1980) Tetanus toxin blocks the neuromuscular transmission in vitro like botulinum a toxin. Naunyn-Schmiedebergs Arch. Pharmac. 311, 33--40. HABERMANN, E. and HOgVATH, E. (1980) Localization and effects of apamin after application to the central nervous system. Toxicon 18, 549-560. HAaERMANN, E., BIGALKE, H. and AmCERT-HILGEg, G. (1981) Tetanus toxin and botulinum a toxin inhibit acetylcholine release from but not calcium uptake into brain tissue. Naunyn-Schmiedebergs Arch. Pharmac. 316, 143-148. HABERMANN, E., AHNERT-HILGER, G., BIZZINi, B., GORETZKI, K., MULLER, H. and VOLCKERS, C. (1983) Monoclonal antibodies against tetanus toxin and toxoid. Med. Microbiol. Immun. 172, 123-135. HABERMANN, E. and TAYOT, J. L. (1985) Interaction of solid-phase gangliosides with tetanus toxin and toxoid. Toxicon 23, 913-920. AKTORIES, K., B)~RMANN,M., OHISHI, I., TSUYAMA,S., JAKOBS,K. H. and HABERMANN,E. (1986) Botulinum C2 toxin ADP-ribosylates actin. Nature 322, 24. EISEL, U., JARAUSCH, W., GORETZKI, K., HENSCHEN, A., ENGELS, J., WELLER, U., HUDEL, M., HABERMANN, E. and NmMANN, H. (1986) Tetanus toxin: primary structure, expression in E. coli, and homology with botulinum toxins. EMBO J. 5, 2495-2502. HABERMANN, E., MOLLER, H. and HUDEL, M. (1988) Tetanus toxin and botulinum A and C neurotoxins inhibits noradrenaline release from cultured mouse brain. J. Neurochem. 51, 522-527. HABERMANN, E. (1989) Clostridial neurotoxins and the central nervous system: functional studies on isolated preparations. In: Botulinum Neurotoxin and Tetanus Toxin, pp. 255-279 (SIMPSON, L. L., Ed.). New York: Academic Press. WELLER, U., DAUZENROTH, M.-E., MAYER ZU HERINGDORF, D. and HABERMANN, E. (1989) Chains and fragments of tetanus toxin. Separation, reassociation and pharmacological properties. Eur. J. Biochem. 182, 649-656. HABERMANN, E. (1989) Palytoxin acts through Na +, K+-ATPase. Toxicon 27, 1171-1187.

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KRIEGLSTEIN,K., HENSCHEN,A., WELLER, U. and HABERMANN,E. (1990) Arrangement of disulfide bridges and positions of sulfhydryl groups in tetanus toxin. Eur. J. Biochem. 188, 39-45. BETTA, P., OKSCHE, A., MAULER, F., EICHEL-STREIBER,C. VON, POPOFF, M. R. and HABERMANN,E. (1992) A comparative biochemical, pharmacological and immunological study of Clostridium novyi a-toxin, C. difficile toxin B and C. sordellii lethal toxin. Toxicon (in press).