Eric John Holborow Explained

Birth Date:	1918 3, df=y
Birth Place:	Amesbury, Wiltshire
Death Place:	Ashford, Kent^[1]
Nationality:	British
Occupation:	Physician and immunologist
Known For:	first description of autoantibodies to smooth muscle^[2] ^[3]

Eric John Holborow (20 March 1918 – 3 February 2009) was a British physician, rheumatologist, and immunologist, known for his pioneering research on autoimmunity.^{[4] [5]}

After education at Epsom College, Eric John Holborow, known as "John" or "EJ", studied medicine at Clare College, Cambridge and St Bartholomew's Hospital, graduating in 1942 MB BChir (Cantab.). In 1942 immediately after qualifying MRCS, LRCP, he joined the RAMC and served (under the command of John Vivian Dacie from 1943 to 1946) in Egypt. Holborow in 1947 joined the Royal Postgraduate Medical School's department of haematology (where Dacie was a senior lecturer) and in 1953 graduated MD.^[4]

In 1953 Holborow joined the scientific staff of the MRC Rheumatism Research Unit at the Canadian Red Cross Memorial Hospital in Taplow, Buckinghamshire. He eventually became the director of the Rheumatism Research Unit and worked there until the Unit was closed in 1976.^[4]

He was in 1956 a founder member of the British Society for Immunology and in 1959 became the Society's second secretary.^[5]

In 1976 the Arthritis and Rheumatism Campaign set up the Bone and Joint Research Unit at the London Hospital Medical College (LHMC) in Whitechapel. Holborow was appointed the head of the Bone and Joint Research Unit^[4] and was given a professorial chair in immunopathology.^[5] He was a co-editor for The Journal of Immunological Methods^[5] and a co-editor with William Gordon Reeves of two editions of Immunology in Medicine: A Comprehensive Guide to Clinical Immunology (London, Academic Press, 1977, 1983). Holborow was elected FRCP in 1978 and was the Bradshaw Lecturer in 1982. He retired in 1983.^[4]

He married in 1943. Upon his death in 2009 he was survived by his widow, two sons, a daughter, six grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.^[4]

Selected publications

• Postgrad Med J. October 1953. 29. 336. 482–486. 2500480. Rheumatic Fever: Biochemical and Histopathological Aspects. Holborow. E. J.. 13100127. 10.1136/pgmj.29.336.482.
• A serum factor in lupus erythematosus with affinity for tissue nuclei. British Medical Journal. 2. 5047. 732–734. 1957. 1962253. Holborow. E. J.. Weir. D. M.. Johnson. G. D.. 13460368. 10.1136/bmj.2.5047.732.
• Clin Exp Immunol. December 1967. 2(Suppl). Suppl. 761–767. 1579518. Autoimmune disease in inbred mice. Holborow. E. J.. Denman. A. M.. 5590109.
• 10.1016/S0140-6736(71)90224-8. 298. 7729. 850–852. 16 October 1971. Immunoglobulins on the surface of human lymphocytes. The Lancet. Papamichail. M.. Brown. J.C.. Holborow. E.J.. 4106875 .
• Br Med J. 27 November 1971. 4. 5786. 511–513. 1799774. Smooth Muscle Antibody in Malignant Disease. Whitehouse. J. M.. Holborow. E. J.. 4942740. 10.1136/bmj.4.5786.511.
• J Clin Pathol Suppl (R Coll Pathol). 1979. 13. 107–111. 1521600. Antinucleic acid antibodies. Holborow. E. J.. 93113. 10.1136/jcp.s3-13.1.107.
• Arch Dis Child. November 1981. 56. 11. 864–868. 1627382. New immunofluorescent blood test for gluten sensitivity. Unsworth. D. J.. Manuel. P. D.. Walker-Smith. J. A.. Campbell. C. A.. Johnson. G. D.. Holborow. E. J.. 7030226. 10.1136/adc.56.11.864.
• Fading of immunofluorescence during microscopy: a study of the phenomenon and its remedy. Journal of Immunological Methods. 55. 2. 17 December 1982. 231–242. 10.1016/0022-1759(82)90035-7. Johnson. G.D.. Davidson. R.S.. McNamee. K.C.. Russell. G.. Goodwin. D.. Holborow. E.J.. 6819318 .
• Clin Exp Immunol. May 1984. 56. 2. 371–376. 1536217. Plasmodium falciparum products enhance human lymphocyte transformation by Epstein-Barr virus. Kataaha. P. K.. Facer. C. A.. Holborow. E. J.. 6329564.
• Ann Rheum Dis. April 1988. 47. 4. 280–285. 1003507. T cell cytotoxicity to Epstein-Barr virus infected B cells: comparison of patients with rheumatoid arthritis and their HLA identical siblings. Winrow. V. R.. Norton. J.. Holborow. E. J.. Stierle. H. E.. Young. A.. Sachs. J. A.. 2835019. 10.1136/ard.47.4.280.
• Ann Rheum Dis. April 1991. 50. 4. 231–236. 1004392. Characterisation of the size and composition of circulating immune complexes in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Mageed. R. A.. Kirwan. J. R.. Thompson. P. W.. McCarthy. D. A.. Holborow. E. J.. 2029205. 10.1136/ard.50.4.231.

Notes and References

1. Web site: Lasting Tribute page for Eric John Holborow. funeral-notices.co.uk.
2. Johnson GD. Holborow EJ. Glynn LE. Antibody to smooth muscle in patients with liver disease. 286. 7418. 818–819. 30 October 1965.
3. Toh BH. Smooth muscle autoantibodies and autoantigens. Clin Exp Immunol. 1979. 38. 3. 621–628. 1537904. 93995.
4. Web site: Munk's Roll, Volume XII, Royal College of Physicians. Eric John Holborow.
5. Obituary. John Holborow (1918–2009). Denman, Michael. Archer, Jim. Winrow, Viv. Rheumatology. 48. 12. 2009. 1622–1623. 10.1093/rheumatology/kep318. free.