Curiosity & Collaboration: The Work of Michael Potter (1924–2013)

Potter and Beverly Mock identified genetically inherited alleles of genes that control the susceptibility of BALB/c mice to plasma cell tumor development. Mock performed one of the first genome-wide linkage studies in mice showing that multiple genes are linked to tumor susceptibility. Then they created congenic strains of mice to fine map the genes to specific regions of chromosomes, leading to the identification of two tumor suppressors (p16 and Mndal) and a growth promoting gene (mTOR) as plasma cell tumor susceptibility genes. BALB/c mice carry a rare allele of mTOR. Today, these tumor incidence studies have been used to inform potential drug combination therapies for people with multiple myeloma.

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Potter wanted to study the early stages of tumor growth, but these tumors only grew in animals. In 1986, Richard Nordan, a graduate student in Potter’s laboratory found that the tumors could be grown in tissue culture, if they were grown in liquids from cultured white blood cells called macrophages. Nordan identified the component in the liquid as interleukin-6, which is involved in the growth and differentiation of normal white blood cells. Potter and Nordan had discovered a way to grow tumors in the laboratory and a new tool for scientists of many specialities.

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In 1983, the Paul Ehrlich Foundation awarded the Ehrlich Prize to Potter, Peter Doherty, and Rolf Zinkernagel for their immunological research. Potter had been elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1981, an award he cherished because it was the result of the recognition of his peers.

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Five distinguished scientists received the 1984 Albert Lasker Basic Medical Research Awards, presented by Mrs. Albert D. Lasker at the 39th Annual Luncheon, Friday, November 16, at the St. Regis-Sheraton Hotel in New York City.

Albert Lasker Medical Research Award

Mrs. Lasker congratulates the winners, from left, Dr. Henry J. Heimlich of Xavier University, Cincinnati, Ohio, for developing the Heimlich Maneuver which has saved thousands from death by choking; Dr. Michael Potter of the National Cancer Institute for his pioneering work with plasma cells; Dr. Georges J. F. Köhler of Basel, Switzerland, and Dr. César Milstein of Cambridge, England, for their revolutionary discovery of hybridoma technology; and Dr. Paul C. Lauterbur of Stony Brook, New York, for developing a remarkable new way to visualize the body’s internal organs without radiation. Drs. Milstein and Köhler are also winners of the 1984 Nobel Prize in medicine.

Michael Potter For his fundamental research in the genetics of immunoglobulin molecules and for paving the way for the development of hybridomas and monoclonal antibodies.

Dr. Potter’s work has centered on the plasma cell, a form of white blood cell, which acts as the antibody factory for the immune system. The first of his profoundly important discoveries came in 1956, when he found that adjuvants containing mineral oil could cause plasma cell malignancies, or plasmacytomas, in mice. These tumors can be transplanted among mice or grown indefinitely in the laboratory, and are the equivalent of multiple myeloma in humans. This experimental model of human disease has become a keystone of immunological research around the world. Dr. Potter identified immunoglobulins, which bind to specific antigens, making it possible to analyze the structure and the binding properties of antibodies.

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Dr. Potter’s catalytic influence on the field of antibody research has extended far beyond his own laboratory through his generous sharing of materials, cell lines, information, and creative ideas.

To Dr. Potter, for his elegant studies of plasma cell tumors, leading to the development of monoclonal antibodies and enlarging our knowledge of carcinogenesis and the immune system, this 1984 Albert Lasker Basic Medical Research Award is given.

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