Ralph L. Brinster | |
---|---|
Born | [1] | March 10, 1932
Nationality | American |
Alma mater | Rutgers University (B.S., 1953) University of Pennsylvania (V.M.D., 1960) (Ph.D., 1964) |
Awards | Grand Prix Charles-Leopold Mayer, FRA March of Dimes Prize in Developmental Biology, USA Wolf Prize in Medicine, ISR Gairdner Foundation International Award, CAN National Medal of Science, USA |
Scientific career | |
Fields | Genetics; Embryology; Genetic engineering |
Institutions | University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine |
Ralph Lawrence Brinster [2] (born March 10, 1932) is an American geneticist, National Medal of Science laureate, and Richard King Mellon Professor of Reproductive Physiology at the School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Pennsylvania. [3]
Ralph L. Brinster grew up on a small farm in Cedar Grove, New Jersey where his parents raised purebred animals. [3] He studied animal science as an undergraduate at the Cook School of Agriculture, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ and completed his B.S. in 1953. While he was in college, the Korean Conflict began, and he volunteered for service. He was a USAF second lieutenant in Korea during the last year of the combat period and after being assigned to the U.S. Army was stationed north of Seoul with an Army Battalion. He returned from military service and earned his V.M.D. (Veterinariae Medicinae Doctoris) (1960) and his Ph.D. in Physiology (1964) from the University of Pennsylvania.
Ralph Brinster is acknowledged as one of the seminal founders of the field of mammalian transgenesis. [4] [5] [6] He is known throughout the scientific community for his revolutionary research in early embryo development, embryonic-cell differentiation, mechanisms of gene control, and stem cell biology. [5] [7] [8] Brinster's contributions to our knowledge about and understanding of the germline of mammals have been truly extraordinary and have been recognized at the highest level. There is no scientist that has contributed more to the understanding of mammalian genetic modification and germ cells -- the most important cells to the individual and survival of any species. In 2006, Brinster received a Canada Gairdner Foundation International Award for pioneering discoveries in germline modification in mammals. [5] In part the citation read, “his range of contributions is unmatched in the field”. Germline cells are at the foundation of species continuity and are responsible for propagation of individuals of varying genetic content that is critical for evolutionary competition. Specifically, the genetic composition of these cells is the essence of their importance. Brinster's seminal studies on mammalian egg manipulation strategies and his pioneering research on spermatogonial stem cells are today the foundation for all studies in this field, including the controversial potential for modifying the human germline.
Some have suggested that “the experimental genetic manipulation of the animal germline initially by pronuclear injection of cloned DNA into zygotes represents one of the most significant milestones in the history of human civilization," Behringer et al, in Manipulating the Mouse Embryo (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, pg14, 2014). Germline modification has existed for hundreds of millions of years and has contributed to the evolution of species through interaction with their environment. Purposeful germline modification by man began about 10,000 years ago in the fertile crescent of southwest Asia with domestication of plants and animals, giving rise to agriculture and modern civilization. The initial concept of domesticating wild species may be viewed as the first of four critical advances in man’s intervention in evolutionary germline modification and is considered by many as representing the beginning of modern human history. The subsequent realization that selecting and breeding desirable phenotypes would lead to valuable alterations in domesticated species symbolizes the second advance. The identification and characterization of hereditary elements, which began with the studies of Mendel and continues today with the sequencing of genomes, represents the third significant development. These three conceptual advances are often considered to be the foundation of agriculture and modern civilization. Experimental addition or modification of individual DNA sequences and genes in the germline, known as transgenesis, exemplifies a fourth unique conceptual advance in man’s purposeful modification of the germline. Thus, the generation of transgenic animals is an extraordinary, creative development in man’s historical interaction with other species and of enormous importance in biology and medicine (see NICHD 2003 Hall of Honor and 2012 Colloquium External links below).
During the 1960s, Brinster pioneered the development of techniques to manipulate mouse embryos, and his techniques have made the mouse the major genetic model for understanding the basis of human biology and disease. [5] [6] His research has provided the experimental foundation for progress in germline genetic modification in a range of species, which has generated a revolution in biology, medicine, and agriculture. [7]
In July 2024, Dr. Brinster had 411 total publications, approximately 322 are in peer-reviewed journals and 89 are chapters/reviews. Included in the publications are: 30 in Nature, 18 in Cell, 13 in Science, and 35 in Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci.
His research contribution/impact is ranked 1st of 173,000 contributors in Veterinary Medicine in the world and 8th of one million contributors in Agriculture and Natural Resources in the world in Scholars GPS with an h-index = 153.
He is ranked #128 in the world and # 96 in the United States among top scientists for 2024 in Research.com with a D-index (Discipline h-index) = 152.
While a Ph.D. candidate in the 1960s, Brinster developed the first reliable in vitro culture system for early mammalian embryos. His initial studies were on fertilized eggs of the mouse. In 1963, he described a culture method consisting of micro drops of medium under oil, which remains the primary culture technique for mammalian eggs of all species, including human eggs during in vitro fertilization. During the next 10 years, Brinster studied many aspects of mouse egg metabolism and defined characteristics common to eggs of all mammalian species. From these studies he developed a culture medium and embryo manipulation strategies that are the basis of all egg culture media and manipulation methods in use today. He published more than 60 papers in the general area of egg metabolism and culture and is the scientist who laid the foundation for subsequent research involving mammalian egg culture. His studies provided a reliable method to manipulate all stages of preimplantation development in the mouse and other mammalian species (See Figure 1). [10] [9]
These techniques have been conserved to the present day and form the foundation for all experimentation with the mammalian embryo - including transgenic animals, embryonic stem cell research, human and mammalian in vitro fertilization, mammalian cloning, and knockout technology.
His in vitro culture and egg manipulation strategies have directly enabled foundational techniques in modern science such as embryo splitting, intracytoplasmic sperm injection, nuclear transplantation, and mitochondrial transplantation into eggs, among others, which occur in vitro using methods virtually unchanged since they were introduced by Brinster.
This "Brinster Method" of embryo manipulation is so ubiquitous in modern biology that other scientists rarely cite the work in current publications. [10] [9]
Brinster used the foundation of his culture and manipulation strategies to study techniques to alter the genetic makeup of developing embryos and their germ cells. In the early 1970s, he injected stem cells into embryos (blastocysts) in a series of imaginative experiments which were of enormous importance and changed the way scientists thought about the possibility of modifying genes in the germline. He was the first scientist to demonstrate that foreign teratocarcinoma cells could combine with native blastocyst cells to form adult "chimeric" mice, demonstrating the feasibility of this novel approach to change the genetic character of mice (Fig. 2). [11] The introduction of foreign cells and new genes into these chimeric mice generated the first prototype transgenic animals. [8] In addition, this discovery stimulated the search for embryonic stem cells and ultimately led to the development of the "knock-out mouse".
Professor Brinster was the first scientist to microinject fertilized eggs with RNA and DNA, and was at the forefront of the field in applying these microinjection methods to generate transgenic mice. [4] [6] [14] [15] Direct injection of fertilized mouse eggs, pioneered by Brinster, was the first approach to achieve routine experimental germline modification and served as the basis for all subsequent techniques (Fig. 3). [13]
Brinster then collaborated with Richard Palmiter, a prominent molecular biologist at the University of Washington, to pioneer and develop the transfer of foreign genes into mammals, and they utilized these methods to elucidate the activity and function of many genes. Their seminal experiments catalyzed a worldwide revolution in genetic engineering in the 1980s. [14] [15] [16] Transgenic mice are now used every day in thousands of laboratories around the world to investigate everything from cancer biology and cardiovascular disease to hair loss and abnormal behavior. Their experiments, for the first time, showed that new genes could be introduced into the mammalian germline with the potential to increase disease resistance, enhance growth, and produce vital proteins like blood-clotting factors needed by hemophiliacs. Perhaps their best known experiment was in generating the “Giant/Super Mouse”, which catalyzed interest within the scientific community and in the general public about the enormous potential of the transgenic technology being developed and is credited with the initiation of the genetic revolution in biology, medicine and agriculture (Fig. 4). [12] In addition, they provided the first proof of expression of transgenes, the first example of cancer arising from a transgene and the first proof of the targeted integration of DNA by egg injection. [17] [18] Together, Brinster and Palmiter developed many of the first animal models of human disease throughout the 1980s. Their partnership also yielded the first transgenic rabbits, sheep, and pigs. [19]
This transcontinental collaboration constructed a body of work that formed the foundation for a generation of scientific progress in genetic modification via transgenesis, homologous recombination or "knock-out" techniques, and cloning; and the egg culture and manipulation strategies were essential for these experiments by Brinster and Palmiter, as well as for all other scientists working with eggs and embryos of all species. The egg culture and injection techniques developed by Brinster serve as the basis for the CRISPR/Cas9 system of genetic modification currently used for all types of gene changes in all species.
In short, Brinster's egg injection technique was the first used to produce transgenic animals and is now the major method for making all genetic alterations in all species.
In recent years, Brinster has continued to advance the field of stem cell biology by making a series of catalyzing, transformational discoveries utilizing male germline stem cells, called spermatogonial stem cells (SSCs). Spermatogonial stem cells in the testes are the only cells in the adult body that divide throughout life and transmit genes to the next generation, establishing them as a powerful resource to modify genes of any mammalian species. In elegant experiments published in 1994, Brinster demonstrated that these stem cells can be transplanted from the testis of a fertile male to the testis of an infertile male where they establish spermatogenesis and produce spermatozoa of donor haplotype (Fig. 5). [20] [22] He further demonstrated that the technique is applicable to all mammalian species examined, including humans. [21] Currently, scientists are extending spermatogonial stem cell culture and transplantation to prepubertal boys being treated for cancer to preserve their fertility (Fig. 6). [21] The ability to harvest, culture, genetically modify, freeze and transplant spermatogonial stem cells will not only allow sophisticated genetic modification but will make individual males biologically immortal. Moreover, current studies indicate that it soon will be possible to convert a somatic cell to a germ cell, particularly to the SSC, which will have enormous implications scientifically and in the treatment of clinically important fertility problems. [20]
Each of these four revolutionary contributions have launched entire fields of scientific inquiry.
The fundamental and enormous importance of Ralph Brinster's breakthrough experiments underlying germline modification is exemplified by the realization that no level of description of the genetic code will enable an understanding of how it functions without the ability to experimentally modify the code and study the result in vivo. These experiments on germline modification in mammals today are based on the foundational work of Brinster, including the development of egg culture and egg manipulation strategies, demonstration that the blastocyst could be colonized by foreign stem cells, the ability of eggs to survive direct injection of RNA and DNA, and methods to modify spermatogonial stem cells. Ralph Brinster's contributions in this area are without equal, and he has often been referred to as the "father of transgenesis."
In 2003, Brinster was awarded the Wolf Prize in Medicine and was cited for “development of procedures to manipulate mouse ova and embryos, which has enabled transgenesis and its applications in mice. The first scientist to microinject fertilized eggs (with RNA), Brinster was at the forefront of applying these methods to generate transgenic mice”. [4] Importantly, the first transgenics of any species were made by direct injection of genes into mouse eggs, which has been the major method to generate transgenic animals since it was described. Moreover, the development of the CRISPR/Cas9 approach has now made direct egg injection the choice for germline modification in almost all circumstances and in all species. In 2006, Brinster received a Canada Gairdner Foundation International Award for pioneering discoveries in germline modification in mammals. [5] In part the citation read, “his range of contributions is unmatched in the field”. Most recently, Brinster was awarded the 2010 National Medal of Science, the highest accolade bestowed by the United States government on scientists and engineers, from President Barack Obama for his seminal contributions to germline genetic modification. Since the award was established in 1962, Brinster was the first veterinarian in the United States and the eighth scientist from the University of Pennsylvania to win the National Medal of Science. [7] [23]
Brinster has spent his entire academic career at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine; from 1956 to 1960 as a veterinary student, from 1960 to 1964 as a postdoctoral fellow and PhD Candidate, and then continuing as a faculty member. [24] He was appointed associate professor in 1966, professor in 1970, and the Richard King Mellon Professor of Reproductive Physiology in 1975, a position he still holds. In 1969 he founded the Veterinary Medical Scientist Training Program, the first and only combined VMD (DVM)/PhD program funded by the National Institutes of Health, serving as its Director until 1984. Since 1969 the Program has trained more than 100 combined degree graduates that serve in many senior positions throughout the country. From 1997 to 2007, he was Scientific Director of the Center for Animal Transgenesis and Germ Cell Research at the School of Veterinary Medicine. From 2007 to 2008, he was Founding Co-Director of the Institute for Regenerative Medicine of the University of Pennsylvania, one of the leading programs in the world. He trained more than 50 pre-doctoral and postdoctoral fellows in his laboratory and taught physiology to professional students in the School of Veterinary Medicine every year from 1964 to 2020. In 2020, the Ralph L. Brinster President’s Distinguished Professorship was established by the University of Pennsylvania to recognize the outstanding scientific contributions of Brinster. [25]
In 1961, Brinster married Elaine Redding, a registered nurse and graduate of the Philadelphia General Hospital School of Nursing, and they currently reside in Gladwyne, PA. They have four children. Lauren R. Brinster earned her VMD from the School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. She is a veterinary pathologist at the National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD. Kristen A. Brinster earned her Juris Doctor from the University of Baltimore School of Law. She is a trial lawyer and the founding managing partner of Sutherland & Brinster, PA in Maryland. Derek R. Brinster earned his MD from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. He is a Professor of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery and Director of Aortic Surgery at Northwell Health, New York, NY. Clayton J. Brinster earned an MD from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. He is Director, Center for Aortic Diseases and Associate Professor of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery at the University of Chicago Medical Center in Chicago, IL. In 2021, the Elaine Redding Brinster Prize in Science or Medicine was established by the children to recognize the enormous contribution of Elaine to the achievements of the family. The $200,000 Prize and Medallion are to be awarded annually to an outstanding scientist from any country by the Institute for Regenerative Medicine of the University of Pennsylvania during the Annual Ralph L. Brinster Symposium.
The widely acclaimed Zadie Smith novel "White Teeth" features prominently a genetically modified mouse "Futuremouse", based loosely on the transgenic experiments of Palmiter and Brinster in the 1980s.
In 2017, Dr. Brinster was depicted in his laboratory by portrait artist Mary Whyte. Mary Whyte was recently presented the Portrait Society of America Gold Medal in honor of "a lifelong dedication to excellence, as well as in recognition of a distinguished body of work that serves to foster and enhance fine art portraiture and figurative works in America." [30]
A genetic chimerism or chimera is a single organism composed of cells with more than one distinct genotype. In animals and human chimeras, this means an individual derived from two or more zygotes, which can include possessing blood cells of different blood types, and subtle variations in form (phenotype). Animal chimeras are produced by the merger of two embryos. In plant chimeras, however, the distinct types of tissue may originate from the same zygote, and the difference is often due to mutation during ordinary cell division. Normally, genetic chimerism is not visible on casual inspection; however, it has been detected in the course of proving parentage. More practically, in agronomy Chimera indicates a plant or portion of a plant whose tissues are made up of two or more types of cells with different genetic makeup; it can derive from a bud mutation or, more rarely, at the grafting point, from the concrescence of cells of the two bionts; in this case it is improperly known with the name of "graft hybrid".
In biology and genetics, the germline is the population of a multicellular organism's cells that develop into germ cells. In other words, they are the cells that form gametes, which can come together to form a zygote. They differentiate in the gonads from primordial germ cells into gametogonia, which develop into gametocytes, which develop into the final gametes. This process is known as gametogenesis.
Mario Ramberg Capecchi is an Italian-born molecular geneticist and a co-awardee of the 2007 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for discovering a method to create mice in which a specific gene is turned off, known as knockout mice. He shared the prize with Martin Evans and Oliver Smithies. He is currently Distinguished Professor of Human Genetics and Biology at the University of Utah School of Medicine.
Sir Martin John EvansFLSW is an English biologist who, with Matthew Kaufman, was the first to culture mice embryonic stem cells and cultivate them in a laboratory in 1981. He is also known, along with Mario Capecchi and Oliver Smithies, for his work in the development of the knockout mouse and the related technology of gene targeting, a method of using embryonic stem cells to create specific gene modifications in mice. In 2007, the three shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in recognition of their discovery and contribution to the efforts to develop new treatments for illnesses in humans.
Fox Chase Cancer Center is a National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center research facility and hospital located in the Fox Chase section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The main facilities of the center are located on property adjoining Burholme Park. The center is part of the Temple University Health System (TUHS) and specializes in the treatment and prevention of cancer.
A transgene is a gene that has been transferred naturally, or by any of a number of genetic engineering techniques, from one organism to another. The introduction of a transgene, in a process known as transgenesis, has the potential to change the phenotype of an organism. Transgene describes a segment of DNA containing a gene sequence that has been isolated from one organism and is introduced into a different organism. This non-native segment of DNA may either retain the ability to produce RNA or protein in the transgenic organism or alter the normal function of the transgenic organism's genetic code. In general, the DNA is incorporated into the organism's germ line. For example, in higher vertebrates this can be accomplished by injecting the foreign DNA into the nucleus of a fertilized ovum. This technique is routinely used to introduce human disease genes or other genes of interest into strains of laboratory mice to study the function or pathology involved with that particular gene.
Rudolf Jaenisch is a Professor of Biology at MIT and a founding member of the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research. He is a pioneer of transgenic science, in which an animal’s genetic makeup is altered. Jaenisch has focused on creating genetically modified mice to study cancer, epigenetic reprogramming and neurological diseases.
Exogenous DNA is DNA originating outside the organism of concern or study. Exogenous DNA can be found naturally in the form of partially degraded fragments left over from dead cells. These DNA fragments may then become integrated into the chromosomes of nearby bacterial cells to undergo mutagenesis. This process of altering bacteria is known as transformation. Bacteria may also undergo artificial transformation through chemical and biological processes. The introduction of exogenous DNA into eukaryotic cells is known as transfection. Exogenous DNA can also be artificially inserted into the genome, which revolutionized the process of genetic modification in animals. By microinjecting an artificial transgene into the nucleus of an animal embryo, the exogenous DNA is allowed to merge the cell's existing DNA to create a genetically modified, transgenic animal. The creation of transgenic animals also leads into the study of altering sperm cells with exogenous DNA.
Sperm-mediated gene transfer (SMGT) is a transgenic technique that transfers genes based on the ability of sperm cells to spontaneously bind to and internalize exogenous DNA and transport it into an oocyte during fertilization to produce genetically modified animals.1 Exogenous DNA refers to DNA that originates outside of the organism. Transgenic animals have been obtained using SMGT, but the efficiency of this technique is low. Low efficiency is mainly due to low uptake of exogenous DNA by the spermatozoa, reducing the chances of fertilizing the oocytes with transfected spermatozoa.2 In order to successfully produce transgenic animals by SMGT, the spermatozoa must attach the exogenous DNA into the head and these transfected spermatozoa must maintain their functionality to fertilize the oocyte.2 Genetically modified animals produced by SMGT are useful for research in biomedical, agricultural, and veterinary fields of study. SMGT could also be useful in generating animals as models for human diseases or lead to future discoveries relating to human gene therapy.
A genetically modified mouse or genetically engineered mouse model (GEMM) is a mouse that has had its genome altered through the use of genetic engineering techniques. Genetically modified mice are commonly used for research or as animal models of human diseases and are also used for research on genes. Together with patient-derived xenografts (PDXs), GEMMs are the most common in vivo models in cancer research. Both approaches are considered complementary and may be used to recapitulate different aspects of disease. GEMMs are also of great interest for drug development, as they facilitate target validation and the study of response, resistance, toxicity and pharmacodynamics.
A knockout rat is a genetically engineered rat with a single gene turned off through a targeted mutation used for academic and pharmaceutical research. Knockout rats can mimic human diseases and are important tools for studying gene function and for drug discovery and development. The production of knockout rats was not economically or technically feasible until 2008.
Genetically modified animals are animals that have been genetically modified for a variety of purposes including producing drugs, enhancing yields, increasing resistance to disease, etc. The vast majority of genetically modified animals are at the research stage while the number close to entering the market remains small.
Hans Robert Schöler is a molecular biologist and stem cell researcher. He is director at the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Biomedicine in Münster.
Genetically modified mammals are mammals that have been genetically engineered. They are an important category of genetically modified organisms. The majority of research involving genetically modified mammals involves mice with attempts to produce knockout animals in other mammalian species limited by the inability to derive and stably culture embryonic stem cells.
Beatrice Mintz was an American embryologist who contributed to the understanding of genetic modification, cellular differentiation, and cancer, particularly melanoma. Mintz was a pioneer of genetic engineering techniques and was among the first scientists to generate both chimeric and transgenic mammals.
A knockout mouse, or knock-out mouse, is a genetically modified mouse in which researchers have inactivated, or "knocked out", an existing gene by replacing it or disrupting it with an artificial piece of DNA. They are important animal models for studying the role of genes which have been sequenced but whose functions have not been determined. By causing a specific gene to be inactive in the mouse, and observing any differences from normal behaviour or physiology, researchers can infer its probable function.
Breast cancer metastatic mouse models are experimental approaches in which mice are genetically manipulated to develop a mammary tumor leading to distant focal lesions of mammary epithelium created by metastasis. Mammary cancers in mice can be caused by genetic mutations that have been identified in human cancer. This means models can be generated based upon molecular lesions consistent with the human disease.
A spermatogonial stem cell (SSC), also known as a type A spermatogonium, is a spermatogonium that does not differentiate into a spermatocyte, a precursor of sperm cells. Instead, they continue dividing into other spermatogonia or remain dormant to maintain a reserve of spermatogonia. Type B spermatogonia, on the other hand, differentiate into spermatocytes, which in turn undergo meiosis to eventually form mature sperm cells.
Human germline engineering is the process by which the genome of an individual is edited in such a way that the change is heritable. This is achieved by altering the genes of the germ cells, which then mature into genetically modified eggs and sperm. For safety, ethical, and social reasons, there is broad agreement among the scientific community and the public that germline editing for reproduction is a red line that should not be crossed at this point in time. There are differing public sentiments, however, on whether it may be performed in the future depending on whether the intent would be therapeutic or non-therapeutic.
Richard Palmiter is a cellular biologist. He was born in Poughkeepsie, NY, and later went on to earn a BA in Zoology from Duke University and a PhD in Biological Sciences from Stanford University. He is employed with the University of Washington where he is a professor of biochemistry and genome sciences. His current research involves developing a deeper understanding of Parkinson's disease. His most notable research is a collaboration with Dr. Ralph Brinster where they injected purified DNA into a single-cell mouse embryo, showing transmission of the genetic material to subsequent generations for the first time.