Salomon Zender Langer (born 1936) is an Argentine pharmacologist whose research has focused on neurotransmission, adrenergic receptors and drug discovery. His research included work on presynaptic receptors involved in the regulation of neurotransmitter release.
Early life and education Langer was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 1936. He graduated from the School of Medicine at the University of Buenos Aires in 1960.
Career In 1962 he received a Rockefeller Foundation Fellowship to continue his studies at Tulane University, New Orleans, and his fellowship was prolonged to join the Department of Pharmacology at Harvard University from 1963 until the end of 1966. His research was on the mechanisms involving denervation supersensitivity.The onset of denervation supersensitivity. Langer SZ, Trendelenburg U. J Pharmacol Exp Ther. 1966 Jan;151(1):73-86 with Ullrich Trendelenburg.Demonstration by the histochemical fluorescence method of the prolonged disappearance of catecholamines from the denervated nictitating membrane of the cat. Weiner N, Langer SZ, Trendelenburg U. J Pharmacol Exp Ther. 1967 Aug;157(2):284-9Time course of the development of supersensitivity to various amines in the nictitating membrane of the pithed cat after denervation or decentralization. Langer SZ, Draskóczy PR, Trendelenburg U. J Pharmacol Exp Ther. 1967 Aug;157(2):255-73.
From 1966 to 1967 he received a fellowship from the Heymans Institute, Ghent, Belgium.
From 1967 to 1969, Langer was a senior research fellow at the Institute of Animal Physiology in Cambridge, where he worked with Marthe Vogt on norepinephrine uptake and the regulation of neurotransmitter release.Noradrenaline release from isolated muscles of the nictitating membrane of the cat S. Z. Langer, Marthe Vogt J. Physiol. 1971 April; 214(1): 159–171. He also worked with Leslie Iversen at the Department of Pharmacology, Cambridge University.Effects of phenoxybenzamine on the uptake and metabolism of noradrenaline in the rat heart and vas deferens. Iversen LL, Langer SZ. Br J Pharmacol. 1969 Nov;37(3):627-37.Monoamine oxidase and catechol-O-methyl transferase activities in cat nictitating membrane and rat and guinea-pig vas deferens after sympathectomy. Iversen LL, Jarrott B, Langer SZ. Br J Pharmacol. 1968 Nov;34(3):693P-694P.
In 1969, he returned to Argentina where he was appointed Director of the Institute for Pharmacological Research. His work led to the discovery of the presynaptic inhibitory Alpha-adrenoceptors on noradrenergic nerve terminals and their role in the modulation of the NE release during nerve stimulationPossible physiological significance of the initial step in the catabolism of noradrenaline in the central nervous system of the rat M. B. Farah, E. Adler-Graschinsky, S. Z. Langer: Naunyn-Schmiedeberg's Archives of Pharmacology vol. 297, no. 2, pp. 119-131, 1977
During the 1970s, Langer investigated presynaptic alpha-adrenoceptors involved in the regulation of noradrenaline release and contributed to the pharmacological distinction between alpha-1 and alpha-2 adrenoceptors.Physiological significance of α-adrenoceptor-mediated negative feedback mechanism regulating noradrenaline release during nerve stimulation S. Z. LANGER, Edda Adler-Graschinsky, O. Giorgi. Nature, vol. 265, no. 5595, pp. 648-650, 1977Evidence for the presynaptic location of the alpha-adrenoceptors which regulate noradrenaline release in the rat submaxillary gland Ester J. Filinger, S. Z. Langer, C. J. Perec, F. J. E. Stefano Naunyn-Schmiedeberg's Archives of Pharmacology vol. 304, no. 1, pp. 21-26, 1978
Langer also studied cotransmission involving norepinephrine and adenosine triphosphate (ATP).The effects of the 2-amino-tetrahydronaphthalene derivative M7, a selective α 2 -adrenoceptor agonist in vitro N. B. Shepperson, S. Z. Langer Naunyn-Schmiedeberg's Archives of Pharmacology, vol. 318, no. 1, pp. 10-13, 1981In vitro studies on 6-fluoronoradrenaline at several peripheral sympathetic neuroeffector junctions N. B. Shepperson, T. Purcell, R. Massingham, S. Z. Langer Naunyn-Schmied Arch Pharmacol. 1981 Aug;317(1):1-4,
In 1976, Langer became Head of the Department of Pharmacology at the Wellcome Research Laboratories in Beckenham, Kent, UK.
In 1977, Langer joined Synthélabo Research in Paris as director of biology, later becoming research director and vice-president. His research there included work on high-affinity binding sites associated with the serotonin transporter and on presynaptic autoreceptors involved in neurotransmitter release.Association of high affinity 3H-imipramine binding site with the serotonin transporter ; possible role of endogenous modulators. Langer SZ, Arbilla S, Tahraoui L, Lee CR. Clinical Neuropharmacol 1984 vol7 : pS467Stereoselectivity in the metabolism of 3H-noradrenaline during uptake into and efflux from the isolated rat vas deferens K.-H. Graefe, F. J. E. Stefano, S. Z. Langer: Naunyn-Schmiedeberg's Archives of Pharmacology vol. 299, no. 3, pp. 225-238, 1977
Throughout the 1980s Langer continued his work on presynaptic autoreceptors regulating norepinephrine, dopamine and serotonin (5-HT) release and reported the interactions in neurotransmission between the neuronal transporter and the corresponding autoreceptor.Presynaptic regulation of catecholamine release.Langer SZ Biochem Pharmacol 1974;23:1793-800Presynaptic regulation of monoaminergic neurons. Langer SZ. In “Psychopharmacology. The third generation of progress”, Meltzer Hy, Raven Press,1987, P151-158 Presynaptic regulation of the release of catecholamines. Lager SZ.Pharmacl Reviews 1980; 32:337-62.
In 1984 he was listed among the 250 most-cited scientific primary authors according to the ISI (Institute for Scientific Information) Citation Index
From 2000 to 2007, Langer was senior vice-president of molecular biology and drug discovery at Compugen. In 2014, he founded Synaptic Pharma, a biotechnology company developing eliprodil.
Langer is among the highly cited researchers (ISI) in Pharmacology since 1981.https://www.ae-info.org/ae/Member/Langer_Salomon/Publications
Awards and prizes 1960: Gold medal to the best graduate at the Medical School, University of Buenos Aires, Argentina 1962: School of Medicine Award given to the best doctoral thesis of the year: « Audiogenic seizures », University of Buenos Aires, Argentina 1962: Rockefeller Foundation Fellowship 1976: Guggenheim Fellowship for research in cardiovascular pharmacology 1977: Gaddum Memorial Lecture Award by the British Pharmacological Society 1980: G.E. Brown Memorial Lecture of the American Heart Association 1981:First International Prize of the Anna-Monika Foundation (Dortmund, West Germany) for research in the field of endogenous depression. 1986: Pythagoras Prize in Pharmacology. Mediterranea University of Reggio Calabria, Calabria, Italy. 1991:Otto Krayer Award in Pharmacology, presented by ASPET (American Society of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics) 1991: Ciba Award in Hypertension, presented by the Council for High Blood Pressure of the American Heart Association, USA. 1993: Eli Lilly Award in Neuroscience from the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology(ECNP). 1999: Lieber Prize in Schizophrenia presented by the National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression (NARSAD), USA. 2000: ASPET Award of the American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics. 2002: Julius Axelrod Award Medal for research in the field of Catecholamines (ASPET). 2009: Mark Nickerson Memorial Lecture at McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. 2009:Inaugural Norman Weiner Memorial Award by the International College of Neurophychopharmacology (CINP) 2010: Pioneers in Psychopharmacology Award by the CINP
Honors and other special scientific recognitions 1972-1974 Vice-President of the Latin American Society of Pharmacology 1974-1976 President of the Latin American Society of Pharmacology 1975-1977 President of the Argentine Society of Experimental Pharmacology 1975-1980 Member of the World Health Organization Expert Advisory Panel on drug evaluation 1984 ISI citation index: Dr Langer was listed among the 250 most-cited scientific primary authors 1989 to 1992 President of the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ECNP) 1991 to 1998 Vice-President of the International College of Neuropsychopharmacology (CINP) 1991 to 1997 Member of the Executive Committee of the World Federation of Societies of Biological Psychiatry (WFSBP) 1999 Honorary Professor, University of Buenos Aires, Argentina Honorary member of the National Academy of Medicine, Buenos Aires, Argentina 2002 to 2006 Treasurer and Member of the Executive Committee of IUPHAR(International Union of Basic and Clinical Pharmacology) 2006 to 2010 First Vice-President of IUPHAR
Major scientific discoveries
The first extensive and rigorous evidence of co-transmission of neurotransmitters (norepinephrine and ATP) in the 1970s, demonstrating that neurons can release more than one type of neurotransmitter simultaneously. The identification and description of presynaptic auto-receptors for several neurotransmitters, including dopamine, serotonin, acetylcholine, GABA and glutamate. These auto-receptors regulate neurotransmitter release and are critical in synaptic transmission control. The discovery of a specific, high-affinity binding site for 3H-imipramine and later 3H-paroxetine associated with serotonin transporter in brain and blood platelets, which played a key role in serotonin transporter purification for cloning and expression Development and discovery of several important pharmacological compounds, including Diltiazem (a calcium antagonist used for coronary insufficiency), Betaxolol (a selective beta-1 antagonist used for hypertension and glaucoma), Alfusozin (an alpha-1 adrenergic blocker primarily used to treat symptoms of benign prostatic hyperplasia), Zolpidem (a selective agonist for benzodiazepine receptors used for insomnia), and Mizolastine (a histamine H-1 receptor antagonist used for allergic diseases). Contributions to the development of the atypical antipsychotic Aripiprazole Research advancing drug discovery for major depression and Alzheimer’s disease, including founding Synaptic Pharma Ltd in 2014.
These discoveries significantly advanced the understanding of neurotransmission mechanisms, receptor pharmacology, and facilitated the development of key drugs in cardiovascular, neurological, psychiatric and allergic disease therapies.
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