For cancer immunotherapy
The winners of the 2018 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine have been announced
A ceremony was held in Stockholm to announce the winners of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. They became James Allison (James P. Allison) and Tasuku Honjo (Tasuku Honjo) for the discovery of cancer therapy by removing the restriction of the immune response.
James Ellison, a professor at the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center at the University of Texas, isolated the CTLA-4 protein. Its molecules are located on the surface of T cells and are able to bind to CD80 and CD86 proteins on the surface of another component of the immune system - antigen-presenting cells. When such binding occurs, antigen–presenting cells, showing all other components of the immune system what to react to, are inactivated - they stop signaling. In this case, the antigen – the "sign" of the object that the attack was supposed to be aimed at – does not cause activation of the immune response.
Kyoto University professor Tasku Honjo discovered and characterized several interleukins, as well as the PD-1 protein. It is a receptor located on the surface of T cells. By binding to certain molecules, in particular, PD-L1 on the surface of tumor cells, it inhibits the attack of T-lymphocytes on cells carrying these same molecules.
Thanks to the discoveries of Ellison and Honjo, cancer therapy with immune response checkpoint inhibitors became possible. Immune response control points are molecules that protect the body's cells from attack from their own immune system, primarily from T–lymphocytes, i.e. limiting the immune response to them. Due to these control points, the components of cancer tumors "hide" from T cells. Immune response checkpoint inhibitors reduce the activity of PD-1, CTLA-4 and similar molecules and thereby "allow" T-lymphocytes to attack tumors.
"The discovery of the CTLA4 and PD1 membrane proteins in the late 1990s allowed the development of fundamentally new drugs for the treatment of cancer. These proteins, often called immune checkpoints, allow the cancer tumor to successfully trick the cells of the immune system. With the help of drugs that suppress the activity of CTLA4 and PD1, we have already learned how to fight very aggressive types of tumors of the lungs, kidneys, as well as melanoma. The medicines ipilimumab and nivolumab have already been registered by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as the second recommended line of therapy. Thus, the Nobel Prize for scientists who have discovered a new direction in cancer treatment is highly expected and highly deserved," Andrei Garaza, bioinformatician, co–founder and director of Oncobox startup, which develops solutions for targeted cancer therapy, an expert of the AngelTurbo accelerator, told the Attic.
The Nobel Committee finished voting at 11 a.m. Moscow time. The Secretary General of the Nobel Committee, Thomas Perlmann, notified the new laureates about the nominations by phone, and at 12:30 Moscow time their names became known to the general public.
Interestingly, the Thomson Reuters agency, which compiles lists of likely candidates for the Nobel Prize every year on the basis of quoting scientific articles (and rarely hits the target), gave a fairly accurate forecast regarding Honjo and Ellison. They were among the contenders for the award in 2016. Just two years later, the forecast came true.
The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, the highest award for scientific achievements in the field of physiology or medicine, is awarded annually by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in Stockholm. It was established in accordance with a will written in 1895 by the Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel. Each laureate receives a medal, a diploma and a monetary reward. They are traditionally awarded at an annual ceremony in Stockholm on December 10 – the anniversary of Nobel's death.
The first Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded in 1901 Emil von Behring "for his work on serum therapy, primarily for its use in the treatment of diphtheria, which opened new paths in medical science and gave doctors a victorious weapon against disease and death." Since then, 214 people have been awarded the prize.
Last year, 2017, the most prestigious scientific prize was awarded to Jeffrey C. Hall, Michael Rosbash and Michael W. Young for the discovery of the molecular mechanisms of circadian rhythms - periodic changes in the activity of cells, tissues and organs that go through a full cycle in about 24 hours.
Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru