The Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institutet of Sweden has awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine to three scientists at U.S. universities for unraveling the intricacies behind how molecules are transported in the cell and delivered to the right place at the right time.
The Oct. 7 announcement named Randy W. Schekman, James E. Rothman and Thomas C. Südhof as recipients of the prestigious award for their contributions to research on the cell's transport system for the transfer of cellular cargo. Each cell produces and exports molecules--some of which, insulin for example, need to be transported out of the cell. Other molecules are needed at specific sites inside the cell.
The scientists' research could have widespread implications for drug discovery and development because interruptions in this complex transport system can have serious effects on the body and contribute to neurological diseases, diabetes and immunological disorders.
"The system is critical for a variety of physiological processes in which vesicle fusion must be controlled, ranging from signaling in the brain to release of hormones and immune cytokines," according to statement released by the Nobel Assembly.
It was known that molecules produced in the cell are packaged into vesicles--small bubbles within cells--but how exactly these vesicles deliver their cargo to the right spot at the right time was a mystery to scientists.
Schekman, a professor in the Department of Molecular and Cell biology at the University of California at Berkeley, uncovered a set of genes that are key regulators of vesicle traffic. Rothman, professor and chairman in the Department of Cell Biology at Yale University, discovered protein machinery that allows vesicles to fuse with their targets to allow cargo molecules to be transferred within the cell. Südhof, a professor of molecular and cellular physiology at Stanford University, revealed how signals instruct vesicles to release their cargo with precision.
The three winners will share a prize of about $1.2 million, with roughly $413,600 going to each.
- read the press release