Michael Berridge was known for his work on cell signaling, in particular the discovery that inositol trisphosphate acts as a second messenger, linking events at the plasma membrane with the release of calcium ions within the cell.
17 Facts About Michael Berridge
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Michael Berridge became interested in insect physiology after helping with his physiology professor's research on tsetse flies, and went to the United Kingdom to study with Vincent Wigglesworth, regarded as the father of insect physiology, at the Department of Zoology of the University of Cambridge.
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Michael Berridge became a member at the Gonville and Caius College, where Wigglesworth was a fellow, and obtained his PhD in 1965.
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Michael Berridge migrated to the United States instead, joining the Department of Biology of the University of Virginia as a postdoctoral fellow.
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Michael Berridge became a research associate under Bodil Schmidt-Nielsen at the Department of Biology of the same university in 1967.
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Michael Berridge first joined as a senior scientific officer, and was promoted to principal scientific officer in 1972.
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Michael Berridge became a senior principal scientific officer at the Unit of Insect Neurophysiology and Pharmacology, at the University of Cambridge, in 1978.
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In 1990, Michael Berridge joined the Babraham Institute as the Deputy Chief Scientific Officer of the Laboratory of Molecular Signalling, before serving as the Head of Signalling in 1996 until retiring in 2003.
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Michael Berridge was a fellow of the Trinity College of the University of Cambridge from 1972 until his death.
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Michael Berridge maintained an online textbook on cell signalling, now hosted by Portland Press under the Biochemical Society.
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Michael Berridge continued studying cyclic AMP after returning to the University of Cambridge, and conducted experiments to study how serotonin and cyclic AMP affected the movement of ions, as ion concentration difference across the salivary gland epithelium controlled the movement of water across the epithelium through osmosis.
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Michael Berridge measured the difference in electric potential across the epithelium since ions are charged.
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Michael Berridge suspected calcium ions could explain the distinct electrical but similar physiological effects of serotonin and cyclic AMP.
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Michael Berridge then wanted to identify the connection between cell surface receptor activation and the release of intracellular Ca from storage.
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Michael Berridge was inspired by a review article by Robert H Michell in 1975, which proposed receptor activation caused the breakdown of phosphatidylinositol, which in turn opened Ca channels on the cell membrane to allowing Ca influx into cells.
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Michael Berridge hypothesised phosphatidylinositol was hydrolysed into a form of inositol phosphate and diglyceride, and the former was eventually broken down into inositol.
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Michael Berridge applied lithium ions to blow fly salivary glands to inhibit the conversion of inositol phosphate to inositol.