Immune system discoveries earn Nobel in Medicine

Three scientists won the Nobel Prize in Medicine on October 03, for
discoveries about the immune system that opened new avenues for the
treatment and prevention of infectious illnesses and cancer.
American Bruce Beutler and French scientist Jules Hoffmann shared the
10 million-kronor ($1.5 million) award with Canadian-born Ralph
Steinman, the Nobel committee at Stockholm Karolinska Institute said.
Mr. Beutler and Mr. Hoffmann were cited for their discoveries in the
1990s of receptor proteins that can recognise bacteria and other
microorganisms as they enter the body, and activate the first line of
defence in the immune system, known as innate immunity.
Mr. Steinman, 70, was honoured for the discovery two decades earlier
of dendritic cells, which help regulate adaptive immunity, the next
stage of the immune system's response, when the invading
microorganisms are purged from the body.
"Their work has opened up new avenues for the development of
prevention and therapy against infections, cancer and inflammatory
disease," the citation said.
Mr. Beutler is professor of genetics and immunology at The Scripps
Research Institute in La Jolla, California. Mr. Hoffmann headed a
research laboratory in Strasbourg, France, between 1974 and 2009 and
served as president of the French National Academy of Sciences between
2007-2008.
Mr. Steinman has been affiliated with Rockefeller University in New
York since 1970, and heads its Center for Immunology and Immune
Diseases.
Mr. Hoffmann's discovery came in 1996 during research on how fruit
flies fight infections. Two years later, Mr. Beutler's research on
mice showed that fruit flies and mammals activate innate immunity in
similar ways when attacked by pathogenic microorganisms.
Mr. Steinman's discovery dates back to 1973, when he found a new cell
type, the dendritic cell, which has a unique capacity to activate
so-called T-cells. Those cells have a key role in adaptive immunity,
producing antibodies that destroy infections. Once the infection has
been stopped, the immune system maintains a memory that helps it
mobilise its defences next time it comes under a similar attack.
The trio's discoveries have enabled the development of new methods for
treating and preventing diseases, including improved vaccines and in
attempts to help the immune system to attack tumors, the committee
said.
The medicine award kicked off a week of Nobel Prize announcements, and
will be followed by the Physics prize on Tuesday, Chemistry on
Wednesday, Literature on Thursday and the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday.
The winners of the Economics award will be announced on October 10.
The coveted prizes were established by wealthy Swedish industrialist
Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, except for the Economics
award, which was created by Sweden's Central Bank in 1968 in Nobel's
memory. The prizes are always handed out on December 10, on the
anniversary of Nobel's death in 1896.
Last year's Medicine award went to British professor Robert Edwards
for fertility research that led to the first test tube baby.