Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine: Imperial researchers explain the science

The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine has been announced today Monday 7 October, we asked Imperial scientists about its significance.

This years' Prize was awarded jointly to American scientists James E Rothman, Randy W Schekman, and Thomas C Südhof, who is German, "for their discoveries of machinery regulating vesicle traffic, a major transport system in our cells".

Dr Anita Hall, Senior Teaching Fellow in the Department of Life Sciences at Imperial College London and Dr Duncan Casey, Research Associate of Membrane Biophysics in the Department of Chemistry at Imperial College London, answer questions about the significance of this award and what it means for research in their field.

What is the work recognised by this prize?

Anita Hall (AH): "Each Autumn I teach a class of bright young minds about the wonders of cell biology. How on earth does each of our extraordinarily complex cells function so well most of the time and how can we correct things when cell biology goes wrong? The work of Schekman, Rothman and Sudholf has been central to our understanding of this."

Duncan Casey (DC): "The research by Schekman, Rothman and Südhof provides huge insights into the mechanisms by which the complex mixtures of proteins and signalling molecules produced in your cellular factories are sorted, distributed and delivered about the body, in an operation that puts the logistics of Heathrow Airport to shame. Their work is of enormous importance to us as researchers, but also as an inspiration to membrane biologists and chemists worldwide."

Why has this development been important in physiology or medicine?

AH: "Their experiments have shown us how a process that is central to the life of our cells occurs: how the many proteins that are made in one enclosed part of the cell are packaged and released to the correct place in another part of the cell."

DC: "Cells are held together by membranes, and their inner parts are separated by more membranes: large ones that contain the organelles that create things inside the cell, and smaller ones known as vesicles that carry the products of those organelles around the cell. These membranes are often thought of as simple, inert structures – as mere bags, wrapping up all the interesting bits of biology – but they play a vital role in processes as diverse as nerve-to-nerve communication at synaptic junctions and the control of the otherwise-dangerously unstable intermediate steps in energy production."

AH: "Through the work recognised today we now know more about how proteins are loaded into membrane bound vesicles which are labelled according to their cargo and then transported to the appropriate target region of the cell where their load is needed. This load can include hormones, neurotransmitters, or signals for other cells; without it we would not function."

Why is this significant?

DC: "Even slight malfunctions in these membrane trafficking processes can lead to potentially lethal conditions as signals become scrambled. The understanding gained through Rothman, Schekman and Südhof’s studies has provided us with the toolkit we need to peel back the lid on a wide range of the fundamental processes that drive and maintain healthy cell function. Understanding these has opened up major new avenues for treating a range of diseases including many auto-immune disorders and type II diabetes."

AH: "Schekman, Rothman and Südhof’s results have revealed another of cell biology’s elegant solutions to a logistical problem; my students are in for a treat as they learn about their prize-winning work.

Follow Anita Hall (@ani2tall) and Duncan Casey (@dcasey007) on Twitter for more science.