Charles T. Ambrose, M.D.
Professor
A.B. (Chem), Indiana University, 1951
M.D., Johns Hopkins Medical School, 1955
NEMC, Boston, resident in infectious diseases, 1955-59
Harvard Medical School, Dept. of Bacteriology & Immunology, 1959-1973
INSERM, Paris, 1972-3 … exchange prof. from Harvard to College de France
Univ. Kentucky, College of Medicine, Dept. of Microbiology, etc., 1973 - present
UK Research Statement: 13 08 12
I have no current research program. My earlier researches & recent
publications are listed below.
A. My immunological studies from 1959 through 1975 employed an organ culture
system involving lymph nodes & spleen fragments from rabbits, rats, and
guinea pigs in which the secondary antibody could be elicited in vitro and
examined over the course of a month or more. My early studies showed than
this response was readily inhibited by chloramphenicol (1) & salicylic acid
(2), both at non-toxic, pharmacological levels commonly encountered during
clinical therapy. 1) J. Exp. Med. 1963; 117: 1035-51. 2) J. Exp. Med. 1966;
124: 461-82.
B. In the early 1960s completely synthetic media had not yet been devised
and most cell cultures depended on the medium composed of a balanced salt
solution, placental cord serum, & embryo extract. Culture results sometimes
varied with different lots of serum & embryo extract. This problem was
resolved in my organ culture system with the discovery that the serum could
be replaced by dialyzable components of serum, which proved to be
physiological levels of corticosteroids & insulin. 3) J. Exp. Med., 1964;
119: 1017-49.
C. One unexpected effect observed during dose response experiments was the
enhancement of the 2º Ab response in vitro when very low levels of various
inhibitor drugs were added to the medium -- e.g., actinomycin D (4, 5). I
postulated an antibody inhibitory material, whose synthesis was itself
suppressed by low levels of the drug, which at higher levels caused the
expected inhibition of Ab production. An inhibitory factor was isolated.
Later investigators characterized the phenomenon as due to factors released
by suppressor cells. 4) J. Exp. Med. 1969; 130: 1003-29. 5) Annale
d’Immunologie 1975; 126:3-13.
D. I studied the binding of actinomycin D to rabbit thymus chromatin & its
DNA in a sub-cellular system as measured by optical rotary dispersion (6).
Cortisol (but not chemically related corticosteroids) enhanced AD’s binding
to chromatin but not to DNA. I postulated that physiologically active
corticosteroids mediate their permissive effect in cells by unmasking DNA
sites in chromatin for attachment of natural signals or inducers. 6) “The
Essential Role of Corticosteroid …” in Hormones & the Immune Response, Ciba
Foundation Study Group No. 36, London : J. & A. Churchill, 1970, pp.
100-125.
E. Recently, I have published work on neuroangiogenesis, including the
possible cause of cognitive decline with aging.
-- The Widening Gyrus, American Scientist July-Aug. 2010; 98: 270-274.
-- Neuroangiogenesis: a Vascular Basis for Alzheimer’s Disease and Cognitive
Decline during
Aging, J. Alzheimer’s Dis. 2012 … in press.
F. Since coming to this College of Medicine in 1973, I focused on teaching
pathogenic microbiology to medical students and offered elective courses in
the history of medicine & of microbiology, medical ethics, and humanistic
medical literature. Below are some of my recent single-author publications.
1. Felix Platter, a 16th-century Medical Student. The Pharos 2004; 67: 8-13.
2. Osler and the Infected Letter. (A History of the Disinfection of Mail).
Emerging Infectious Diseases 1005; 11: 689-93.
3. The Secret Kappa Lambda Society of Hippocrates (Origin of the AMA’s
Principles of Medical Ethics). Yale J. Biol. & Med. 2005; 78: 45-56.
4. Robley Dunglison, 1798-1869. The preeminent medical author of
mid-19th-century America. The Pharos 2006; 69: 1-11.
5. The Osler Slide. A Demonstration of Phagocytosis from 1876 and other
Reports of Phagocytosis before Metchnikoff’s 1880 Paper. Cellular Immunology
2006; 240: 1-4
6. Immunology’s First Priority Dispute. An Account of the 17th-century
Rudbeck-Bartholin Feud. Cellular Immunology 2006; 242: 1-8.
7. The Priority dispute over the function of the lymphatic system and
Glisson’s ghost (the 18th-century Hunter-Monro Feud) Cellular Immunology
2007; 245: 7-15.
8. Osler and the Black Corpuscles: profiles of three early students of
phagocytosis. J. Med. Biography 2007; 15 (Suppl. 1): 39-45.
9. Rudbeck’s Complaint – A 17th-century Latin Letter Relating to Basic
Immunology, Scandinavian J. Immunology, 2007; 66: 486-493.
10. Darwin’s Historical Sketch – an American Predecessor: C.S Rafinesque,
Archives of Natural History Fall 2010; 37: 191-202.
11. The Curious Death of Constantine Samuel Rafineque (1783-1840): the case
for the Maidenhair Fern, J. Med. Biography 2010: 18: 165-173.
12. Osler Came to Boston, The Pharos Summer 2011: 18-23.
13. Transylvania Medical Alumni Who Served in the Union and Confederate
Armies, Ohio Valley History 2011; 2(2): 56-67.
14. Sir William Osler and the Muniments of the Alsmhouse at Ewelme, Bodleian
Library Record 2011; --: 207-213.
15. Joseph Hersey Pratt, M.D. – “The Man Who Would Be Osler” in The
Persisting Osler IV, 2011, pp. 43-51.
16. Medicus Petrus Hispanus (Peter of Spain): a XIII century Pope and Author
of a Medieval Sex Guide, J. Med. Biography 2012 … in press.
17. Joseph Hersey Pratt (1872-1956): an early proponent of cognitive-behavioural
therapy in America, J. Med. Biography 2012 … in press.
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