The discovery of how proteins are transported in cells has led three professors from UC Berkeley, Stanford University and Yale University to win the coveted 2013 Nobel Prize in medicine on Monday.
James Rothman, 62, of Yale University, Randy Schekman, 64, of the University of California, Berkeley, and Dr. Thomas Sudhof, 57, of Stanford University were behind the discovery. Together, they share the $1.2 million prize for their research on how tiny bubbles called vesicles act as cargo carriers inside cells.
"Through their discoveries, Rothman, Schekman and Südhof have revealed the exquisitely precise control system for the transport and delivery of cellular cargo. Disturbances in this system have deleterious effects and contribute to conditions such as neurological diseases, diabetes, and immunological disorders," the Nobel Assembly said in a statement.
The three researchers discovered "vesicles" act like a fleet of ships transporting their cargo to the exact destination. It is important for the way the brain communicates, the release of hormones and parts of the immune system.
Their discovery is pivotal in understanding how cells organize their transport system. According to the statement, Dr. Schekman found that a set of genes were required for vesicle traffic. Then, Dr. Rothman unraveled protein machinery which allows vesicles to combine with their targets to successfully transfer the cargo. Finally, Dr. Südhof discovered how signals instruct vesicles to release their cargo with precision.
When this delicate and detailed chain of events is adversely affected, it can contribute to conditions like neurological diseases, diabetes and immunological disorders.
"My first reaction was, 'Oh, my God!' said Schekman in a statement released by Berkeley. "That was also my second reaction."
"All cells use this machinery to export molecules from cells and being able to study this in yeast made the discovery of the machinery responsible for doing this much simpler," Schekman said told Bloomberg. "The pathway is terribly important. There are diseases that affect this pathway."
