Alexander Yevseyevich Braunstein (1902–1986) was a Soviet

biochemist Biochemists are scientists who are trained in biochemistry. They study chemical processes and chemical transformations in living organisms. Biochemists study DNA, proteins and Cell (biology), cell parts. The word "biochemist" is a portmanteau of ...

. He is best known for his co-discovery, along with Maria Kritzman, of

enzymatic An enzyme () is a protein that acts as a biological catalyst by accelerating chemical reactions. The molecules upon which enzymes may act are called substrates, and the enzyme converts the substrates into different molecules known as produc ...

transamination Transamination is a chemical reaction that transfers an amino group to a ketoacid to form new amino acids.This pathway is responsible for the deamination of most amino acids. This is one of the major degradation pathways which convert essential a ...

and its dependence on

vitamin B6 Vitamin B6 is one of the B vitamins, and is an essential nutrient for humans. The term essential nutrient refers to a group of six chemically similar compounds, i.e., "vitamers", which can be interconverted in biological systems. Its active f ...

. Braunstein and American scientist

Esmond Emerson Snell Esmond Emerson Snell (September 22, 1914 – December 9, 2003) was an American biochemist who spent his career researching vitamins and nutritional requirements of bacteria and yeast. He is well known for his study of lactic acid-producing bacte ...

have been cited as the "fathers of vitamin B6".

Early life and education

Braunstein was born in

Kharkiv Kharkiv, also known as Kharkov, is the second-largest List of cities in Ukraine, city in Ukraine.

(then Kharkov), Ukraine in 1902. His father was an

ophthalmologist Ophthalmology (, ) is the branch of medicine that deals with the diagnosis, treatment, and surgery of eye diseases and disorders. An ophthalmologist is a physician who undergoes subspecialty training in medical and surgical eye care. Following a ...

. In his early education, he displayed a facility for learning languages, became interested in studying chemistry, and eventually began to study medicine in 1920 at the Kharkov State Medical Institute. He then moved to Moscow and received his Ph.D. under the supervision of

Vladimir Engelgardt Vladimir Aleksandrovich Engelgardt () (December 3, 1894, in Moscow – July 10, 1984, in Moscow) was a Soviet biochemist, academician of the Soviet Academy of Medical Sciences (1944), academician of the Soviet Academy of Sciences (1953), and He ...

in 1928.

Academic career

Braunstein spent his early scientific career at the People's Commissariat of Health. In 1936, he moved to the A. M. Gorky Institute of Experimental Medicine. In 1945, after the end of World War II, he assumed leadership of a laboratory at the Institute of Biological and Medical Chemistry, under the auspices of the then-new

USSR Academy of Medical Sciences The USSR Academy of Medical Sciences () was the highest scientific and medical organization founded in the Soviet Union founded in 1944. Its successor is the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences founded in 1992, and is a part of the Russian Academy ...

. In 1959, when his former Ph.D. advisor Engelhardt founded a new Institute of Radiation and Physico-Chemical Biology (later the Institute of Molecular Biology), Braunstein headed a laboratory there.

Research

Braunstein's best-known work centered on

and the role of vitamin B₆ (specifically, in its

pyridoxal phosphate Pyridoxal phosphate (PLP, pyridoxal 5'-phosphate, P5P), the active form of vitamin B6, is a coenzyme in a variety of enzymatic reactions. The International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology has catalogued more than 140 PLP-dependen ...

form) as a cofactor in these reactions. Along with Maria Kritzman, Braunstein co-discovered the phenomenon of transamination and described its biological significance in a series of papers beginning in 1937. Later, Braunstein's and

's research groups independently described a general

catalytic Catalysis () is the increase in reaction rate, rate of a chemical reaction due to an added substance known as a catalyst (). Catalysts are not consumed by the reaction and remain unchanged after it. If the reaction is rapid and the catalyst ...

mechanism for enzymes dependent on the biologically active form of

, known as

(PLP), as a cofactor. In his later career, Braunstein focused on

X-ray crystallography X-ray crystallography is the experimental science of determining the atomic and molecular structure of a crystal, in which the crystalline structure causes a beam of incident X-rays to Diffraction, diffract in specific directions. By measuring th ...

, attempting to solve the structure of

transaminase Transaminases or aminotransferases are enzymes that catalyze a transamination reaction between an amino acid and an α-keto acid. They are important in the synthesis of amino acids, which form proteins. Function and mechanism An amino acid con ...

enzymes. After his death, Braunstein was recognized by colleagues for his scientific leadership. His skill with languages was remembered as facilitating international meetings throughout his career, at a time when English was less established as the common language of scientific discourse. As well as publishing in both Russian- and English-language scientific journals, Braunstein also translated scientific works.

Awards and honors

* Stalin Prize in Science and Technology (1941) * Member,

(1945) * Member,

German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina The German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina (), in short Leopoldina, is the national academy of Germany, and is located in Halle (Saale). Founded on 1 January 1652, based on academic models in Italy, it was originally named the ''Academi ...

(1958) * Foreign Honorary Member,

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (The Academy) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and other ...

(1961) * Full Member,

Academy of Sciences of the Soviet Union The Academy of Sciences of the Soviet Union was the highest scientific institution of the Soviet Union from 1925 to 1991. It united the country's leading scientists and was subordinated directly to the Council of Ministers of the Soviet Union (un ...

(1964) *

Hero of Socialist Labour The Hero of Socialist Labour () was an Title of honor, honorific title in the Soviet Union and other Warsaw Pact countries from 1938 to 1991. It represented the highest degree of distinction in the USSR and was awarded for exceptional achievem ...

(1972) *

Order of Lenin The Order of Lenin (, ) was an award named after Vladimir Lenin, the leader of the October Revolution. It was established by the Central Executive Committee on 6 April 1930. The order was the highest civilian decoration bestowed by the Soviet ...

(1972) * Foreign Member,

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, NGO, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the ...

(1974) *

Lenin Prize The Lenin Prize (, ) was one of the most prestigious awards of the Soviet Union for accomplishments relating to science, literature, arts, architecture, and technology. It was originally created on June 23, 1925, and awarded until 1934. During ...

(1980) *Three Orders of the Red Banner of Labour In recognition of his contributions to the study of

biochemistry, the 1987 meeting in a regular series of international symposia on pyridoxal catalysis was dedicated to Braunstein's memory.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Braunstein, Alexander E. 1902 births 1986 deaths Academicians of the USSR Academy of Medical Sciences Foreign associates of the National Academy of Sciences Full Members of the USSR Academy of Sciences Heroes of Socialist Labour Recipients of the Stalin Prize Recipients of the Lenin Prize Recipients of the Order of Lenin Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour Soviet biochemists Burials at Kuntsevo Cemetery