Louis Pillemer
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Louis Pillemer (1908 - August 31, 1957), was an American immunologist, an early investigator of the alternative complement pathway (a system of defense not dependent upon antibodies.)
He led a team at Western Reserve University which discovered properdin in 1954,[1], and this discovery received attention from the national press as a breakthorough in immunology.[2]
In 1957, Robert Nelson challenged these findings, and claimed that Pillemer's results were due to laboratory errors.[3] Pillemer's death soon after publications was ruled a suicide.
Nelson's view prevailed at the time, but further study in the 1960s largely led to a confirmation of much of Pillemer's work.[4]
[edit] References
- ^ PILLEMER L, BLUM L, LEPOW I, ROSS O, TODD E, WARDLAW A (1954). "The properdin system and immunity. I. Demonstration and isolation of a new serum protein, properdin, and its role in immune phenomena". Science 120 (3112): 279–85. doi:. PMID 13186838.
- ^ Death to Germs - TIME
- ^ Nelson R (1958). "An alternative mechanism for the properdin system". J. Exp. Med. 108 (4): 515–35. doi:. PMID 13575682.
- ^ Lepow I (1980). "Presidential address to American Association of Immunologists in Anaheim, California, April 16, 1980. Louis Pillemer, Properdin, and scientific controversy". J. Immunol. 125 (2): 471–5. PMID 6993558.
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