Current Aspects of Hormonology

V. I. Kulinskii^1,2 and L. S. Kolesnichenko¹

¹Departments of Biochemistry and Bioorganic Chemistry, Irkutsk State Medical University, ul. Krasnogo Vosstaniya 1, Irkutsk, 664003 Russia; fax: (395) 224-2056; E-mail: vita@math.isu.runnet.ru

²To whom correspondence should be addressed.

Submitted April 15, 1997.

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On the occasion of the 95th anniversary of the discovery of the first hormone, the definition and use of terms "hormone" and "second messenger" are discussed. The term "hormonology" is proposed to denote the fundamental science of hormones. The combined session in 1950 of the Academy of Sciences and the Academy of Medical Sciences of the USSR is thought to have had a negative effect on the development of hormonology in our country. Hormonology is one of the most rapidly developing branches of contemporary biology. New concepts on the generation of hormones in the majority if not all cells of an organism, on the obligatory regulation of all biologically essential processes, and on the importance and multiplicity of signal transduction systems are of general significance for biology. The development of fundamental hormonology is very important for contemporary medicine.

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KEY WORDS: hormone, hormonology, second messengers, signal transduction systems.

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