glycoprotein (conjugated protein) Glycoproteins are
complexes in which carbohydrates are attached cova-
lently to asparagine (N-glycans) or serine/threonine (O-
glycans) residues of peptides. A protein coated with a
sugar is termed glycosylated and is described or named
with the initials “gp” along with its molecular weight,
e.g., gp160. Several gps are associated with HIV infec-
tion, since they are the outer-coat proteins of HIV:
gp41 plays a key role in HIV’s infection of CD4+ T
cells by facilitating the fusion of the viral and cell mem-
branes. The protein gp120 is one of the proteins that
forms the envelope of HIV; it projects from the surface
of HIV and binds to the CD4 molecule on helper T
cells. GPs are found in mucus and mucins, y-globulins,
a1-globulins, a2-globulins, and transferrin, an ion-
transporting protein. They act as receptors for molecu-
lar signals originating outside the cell. Attachment of
oligosaccharides to peptides increases solubility, covers
the antigenic domains, and protects the peptide back-
bone against proteases.
gold drugs Gold COORDINATION compounds used
in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, examples
being auranofin, (tetraacetylthioglucosato-S)(triethyl-
phosphane)gold(I), and myocrisin, disodium thioma-
lonatogold(I).
Golgi, Camillo(1843–1926) ItalianMedical Teacher
Camillo Golgi was born in Corteno, near Brescia, Italy,
on July 7, 1843, the son of a physician. He studied
medicine at the University of Pavia, and after graduat-
ing in 1865, he continued working in Pavia at the Hos-
pital of St. Matteo. Golgi was influenced by the
scientific methods of Giulio Bizzozero, who introduced
general pathology in the programs of the medical
school at the University of Pavia. In 1872 Golgi accept-
ed the post of chief medical officer at the Hospital for
the Chronically Sick at Abbiategrasso and began his
investigations into the nervous system.
Golgi returned to the University of Pavia as
extraordinary professor of histology, left the university,
and returned as the chair for general pathology in
1881, succeeding his teacher Bizzozero. He also mar-
ried Donna Lina, a niece of Bizzozero.
Golgi developed an interest in the causes of malaria
and determined the three forms of the parasite and
their associated fevers. He developed a photographic
technique to document the most characteristic phases
ofmalaria in 1890.
While Golgi never practiced medicine, he was a
famous and popular teacher as director of the Depart-
ment of General Pathology at St. Matteo Hospital. He
also founded and directed the Instituto Sieroterapico-
Vaccinogeno of the Province of Pavia. Golgi also
became rector of Pavia University and was made a sen-
ator of the Kingdom of Italy.
During World War I, he assumed the responsibility
for a military hospital in Pavia and created a neu-
ropathological and mechanotherapeutical center for the
study and treatment of peripheral nervous lesions and
for the rehabilitation of the wounded.
His greatest contribution seems to be his revolu-
tionary method of staining individual nerve and cell
structures, known then as the “black reaction” and
now called Golgi staining. It allowed a clear visualiza-
tion of a nerve cell body with all its processes.
Golgi shared the Nobel Prize for 1906 with Santia-
go Ramón y Cajal for their work on the structure of the
nervous system. He retired in 1918 but remained as
professor emeritus at the University of Pavia.
The Historical Museum at the University of Pavia dedi-
cated a hall to Golgi, where morethan 80 certificates of
honorary degrees, diplomas, and awards areexhibited.
Golgi’s discovery of the black reaction and further
research provided a major contribution to the advance-
ment of the knowledge on the structural organization
of nerve tissues. He also described the morphological
features of glial cells and the relationships between
their processes and blood vessels; described two funda-
mental types of nerve cells today called Golgi type I
and Golgi type II; discovered the Golgi tendon organs;
explained the cycle of plasmodium (malaria) and the
cell organelle, today called the Golgi apparatus.
Golgi died at Pavia on January 21, 1926. In 1994
the Italian Ufficio Principale Filatelico issued a stamp
to celebrate his work.Golgi apparatus or complex Partof a cell, a cup- or
disclike organelle in cells, usually near the nucleus and
composed of a number of flattened or folded sacs, called
cisternae, with vacuoles and vesicles. They act as an
assembly line in sorting, modifying, and packaging pro-
teins and lipids produced on the endoplasmic reticulum,150 glycoprotein