title: Klaus Hierholzer (1929-2007) and his impact on our understanding of the renal effects of steroid hormones.
abstract: Klaus Hierholzer (1929-2007) dissected various functions influenced by steroids in the distal tubule and showed that aldosterone in low doses reversed the sodium and potassium transport defect in adrenalectomized rats, through a rapid activation of Na+,K+-ATPase. Subsequent studies addressed the role of 11-beta-hydroxysteroid oxidoreductase (11-HSD) and showed that the undisturbed functioning of 11-HSD is a prerequisite for selective mineralocorticosteroid regulation of epithelial transport. Another set of original experiments showed that 11-HSD was equally important in the distal colon, thus establishing that the large intestine acts in parallel with the distal nephron. Hierholzer, born in Konstanz on June 8, 1929, was laureated in medicine on May 25, 1954. Subsequently he worked at the Department of Pharmacology of the University of Freiburg, Cornell University with J. F. Pitts, the Department of Medicine of the University of Frankfurt-am-Main, the University of Copenhagen with H. H. Ussing, and the Institute of Physiology of the Freie Universitaet in Berlin where he became full professor and head of the Institute of Clinical Physiology in 1968. He held that position until 1998. He died in Allensbach in the family house on February 27, 2007. Hierholzer was a member of the Naturforscher Leopoldina Academy and of many other scientific societies, including the Academy of Science and Technology in Berlin, and received various awards including an honorary professorship at the University of Naples, the Bezold Medal, the Volhard Medal, the Schoeller/Junkman Award, and the Malpighi Medal (in memoriam). He published nearly 300 papers including various seminal books. Noteworthy also are his papers on the history of physiology of the kidney and acid-base balance. A total of 26 scientists who trained in his laboratory became professors.
authors.affiliation: Interdepartmental Center for Clinical Research, Second University of Naples, Naples - Italy.
authors.forename: Natale G
authors.initials: NG
authors.lastname: De Santo
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fromm
authors.forename: Ferdinando
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Russo
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wiederholt
mesh_terms: D000305:Adrenal Cortex Hormones / Q000266:history / Q000502:physiology; D005060:Europe; D049673:History, 20th Century; D006801:Humans; D009398:Nephrology / Q000266:history*; D012955:Societies, Medical / Q000266:history; D014481:United States
chemical_list: D000305:Adrenal Cortex Hormones