Agre, << AHG ray, >> Peter (1949-…), an American biochemist, won a share of the 2003 Nobel Prize in chemistry for his discovery of microscopic channels that allow water to pass into and out of living cells. Agre shared the prize with the American biophysicist Roderick MacKinnon.
Agre discovered the water channels while studying red blood cells and kidney cells. He isolated an unknown protein from the cells and injected it into other cells. When the altered cells were placed in water, the protein allowed the water to pass into the cells quickly, causing them to swell. Agre announced the discovery of the new protein, called aquaporin, in 1992.
In 2000, Agre and other researchers described the structure of aquaporin in detail. The protein forms a tunnel in the cell membrane that admits large numbers of water molecules but blocks other molecules, even those that resemble water. A positively charged region in the middle of the protein channel repels positive ions (charged atoms or groups of atoms). This prevents the passage of the hydronium ion (H3O+), a water molecule with an added hydrogen ion. A hydronium ion closely resembles a water molecule (H2O). Allowing hydronium ions to pass would disrupt the cell’s ability to store energy and perform other important functions.
Agre’s work led to the discovery of hundreds of different aquaporin proteins in animals, bacteria, and plants. His work also furthered scientists’ understanding of several diseases of the kidneys, lungs, and muscles that may be caused by defective aquaporins.
Peter Courtland Agre was born on Jan. 30, 1949, in Northfield, Minnesota. He earned a B.A. degree in chemistry from Augsburg College in Minneapolis in 1970. In 1974, Agre earned an M.D. degree from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland. He became a professor there in 1984. In 2005, Agre accepted a position as vice chancellor for science and technology at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina.
