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Yoshinori Ohsumi Awarded Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine Yoshinori Ohsumi of Japan Wins Nobel Prize in Medicine
(about 1 hour later)
Yoshinori Ohsumi, a Japanese cell biologist, was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine on Monday for his discoveries on how cells recycle their content, a process known as autophagy.Yoshinori Ohsumi, a Japanese cell biologist, was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine on Monday for his discoveries on how cells recycle their content, a process known as autophagy.
Autophagy, derived from the Greek, means “self-eating.”Autophagy, derived from the Greek, means “self-eating.”
“This concept emerged during the 1960s, when researchers first observed that the cell could destroy its own contents by enclosing it in membranes, forming sacklike vesicles that were transported to a recycling compartment, called the lysosome, for degradation,” the Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm said in announcing the prize.“This concept emerged during the 1960s, when researchers first observed that the cell could destroy its own contents by enclosing it in membranes, forming sacklike vesicles that were transported to a recycling compartment, called the lysosome, for degradation,” the Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm said in announcing the prize.
Dr. Ohsumi used baker’s yeast to identify genes essential for autophagy, and he went on to examine the underlying mechanisms of the process. In a series of experiments in the early 1990s, Dr. Ohsumi used baker’s yeast to identify genes essential for autophagy, and he went on to examine the underlying mechanisms of the process.
“Ohsumi’s discoveries led to a new paradigm in our understanding of how the cell recycles its content,” the Nobel Assembly said. “His discoveries opened the path to understanding the fundamental importance of autophagy in many physiological processes, such as in the adaptation to starvation or response to infection.”“Ohsumi’s discoveries led to a new paradigm in our understanding of how the cell recycles its content,” the Nobel Assembly said. “His discoveries opened the path to understanding the fundamental importance of autophagy in many physiological processes, such as in the adaptation to starvation or response to infection.”
Mutations in autophagy genes can cause disease, the assembly said, and the process is involved in several conditions including cancer and neurological disease. Mutations in autophagy genes can cause disease, the assembly said, and disruptions in autophagy have been linked to Parkinson’s disease, Type 2 diabetes and cancer.
Dr. Ohsumi, born in 1945 in Fukuoka, Japan, is a professor at the Tokyo Institute of Technology. Dr. Ohsumi, born in 1945 in Fukuoka, Japan, received a Ph.D. from the University of Tokyo in 1974. After spending three years at Rockefeller University in New York, he returned to the University of Tokyo, where he became an associate professor and established his research lab in 1988.
There, he made the discoveries that the Nobel Assembly recognized on Monday. Dr. Ohsumi later moved to the National Institute for Basic Biology, in Okazaki, and since 2009, he has been a professor at the Tokyo Institute of Technology.
When he received the Canada Gairdner International Award last year, which is given for outstanding discoveries or contributions to medical science, he described himself to The Globe and Mail newspaper as “just a basic researcher in yeast.”
He acknowledged, however, that the process was seen as fundamental to human cell survival. “I believe its relevance to many diseases will be discovered in the near future,” he told the newspaper.
In the 1950s, scientists discovered the lysosome — a specialized cell compartment, or organelle, containing enzymes that digest proteins, carbohydrates and lipids.
Christian de Duve, the Belgian scientist who was awarded the Nobel in Physiology in 1974 for discovering the lysosome, coined the term autophagy to describe the process by which cellular cargo is delivered to the cell compartment to be degraded.
Another team of scientists — Aaron Ciechanover, Avram Hershko and Irwin A. Rose — won the Nobel in Physiology in 2004 for their study of how the cell breaks down proteins one by one.
By studying yeast cells, Dr. Ohsumi found that autophagy was the means by which cells get rid of larger protein complexes and worn-out organelles.
He grew mutated yeast cells lacking the enzymes for degrading vacuoles, a kind of organelle, and starved them, that way discovering autophagosomes, cell structures that carry out the recycling process.
He not only demonstrated that autophagy exists in yeast cells but also found a method to identify and characterize critical genes involved in the process.
“Soon it became clear that virtually identical mechanisms operate in our own cells,” the Nobel Assembly said.
“All I can say is, it’s such an honor,” Dr. Ohsumi told reporters at the Tokyo Institute of Technology, according to the Japanese broadcaster NHK. “I’d like to tell young people that not all can be successful in science, but it’s important to rise to the challenge.”
William C. Campbell, Satoshi Omura and Tu Youyou were recognized for their use of modern laboratory techniques to discover anti-parasitic drugs long hidden in herbs and soil.William C. Campbell, Satoshi Omura and Tu Youyou were recognized for their use of modern laboratory techniques to discover anti-parasitic drugs long hidden in herbs and soil.
Five more will be awarded in the days to come:Five more will be awarded in the days to come:
■ The Nobel Prize in Physics will be announced on Tuesday in Sweden. Read about last year’s winners, Takaaki Kajita and Arthur B. McDonald.■ The Nobel Prize in Physics will be announced on Tuesday in Sweden. Read about last year’s winners, Takaaki Kajita and Arthur B. McDonald.
■ The Nobel Prize in Chemistry will be announced on Wednesday in Sweden. Read about last year’s winners, Tomas Lindahl, Paul L. Modrich and Aziz Sancar.■ The Nobel Prize in Chemistry will be announced on Wednesday in Sweden. Read about last year’s winners, Tomas Lindahl, Paul L. Modrich and Aziz Sancar.
■ The Nobel Peace Prize will be announced on Friday in Norway. Read about last year’s winners, the National Dialogue Quartet of Tunisia.■ The Nobel Peace Prize will be announced on Friday in Norway. Read about last year’s winners, the National Dialogue Quartet of Tunisia.
■ The Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Science will be announced on Monday, Oct. 10, in Sweden. Read about last year’s winner, Angus Deaton.■ The Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Science will be announced on Monday, Oct. 10, in Sweden. Read about last year’s winner, Angus Deaton.
■ The Nobel Prize in Literature will be announced on Thursday, Oct. 13, in Sweden. Read about last year’s winner, Svetlana Alexievich.■ The Nobel Prize in Literature will be announced on Thursday, Oct. 13, in Sweden. Read about last year’s winner, Svetlana Alexievich.