Three scientists who uncovered key secrets of how the bodys immune system works have won the 2011 Nobel prize for medicine or physiology, the prize-awarding institute said on Monday.
Swedens Karolinska Institute said in a statement that the prize went to U.S. scientist Bruce Beutler, Luxembourg-born Jules Hoffmann, based in France, and Canadian-born Ralph Steinman, based in the United States.
“This years Nobel Laureates have revolutionized our understanding of the immune system by discovering key principles for its activation,” the institute said.
Beutler and Hoffmann shared one half of the prize of 10 million Swedish crowns ($1.46 million). Steinman died last Friday, the prize-giving committee and the university where he worked said on Monday. It appears the committee was unaware of his death at the time the award was announced.
An official at the Nobel committee of the Karolinska Institute, Anna Dumanski, said, "I can confirm that Professor Steinman has passed away," she said. She could not give any more details.
Rockefeller University said in a statement that Steinman, 68, died on Friday, September 30.
"He was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer four years ago, and his life was extended using a dendritic-cell based immunotherapy of his own design," the New York-based university said in a statement posted on its website.
The work of the three scientists has been pivotal to the development of improved types of vaccines against infectious diseases and novel approaches to fighting cancer. The research has helped lay the foundations for a new wave of so-called “therapeutic vaccines” that stimulate the immune system to attack tumors.
Better understanding of the complexities of the bodys immune system has also provided clues for treating inflammatory diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis, where the components of the self-defense system end up attacking the bodys own tissues.
Medicine is traditionally the first of the Nobel prizes awarded each year. Prizes for achievements in science, literature and peace were first awarded in 1901 accordance with the will of dynamite inventor and businessman Alfred Nobel.
The award citation said scientists had long been researching the immune response by which man and other animals defend themselves against attack by bacteria and other microorganisms.
Beutler and Hoffmann discovered receptor proteins that can recognize microorganisms attacking the body and which activate “innate immunity”, the first step in the bodys immune response, the statement said.
“Ralph Steinman discovered the dendritic cells of the immune system and their unique capacity to activate and regulate adaptive immunity, the later stage of the immune response during which microorganisms are cleared from the body,” it added.
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