Nobel prize winners for physiology or Medicine,
1996
The basis of MHC restriction
"A triumph for curiosity-led experimental
research"
ANU Reporter, October 16, 1996
Awarded for their pioneering work on the
understanding of how the immune system recognises
virus-infected cells. The work was conducted at the
John Curtin School of Medical Research in Canberra;
Australia between 1973-75. The importance of this
research defined that the immune cells capable of
killing virus infected cells must recognise a part
of the virus together with molecules of the host
called Major HistoCompatability (MHC) antigens.
This requirement has been termed MHC-restriction
and is the basis of all cellular immune responses.
This finding has been useful in many areas of
research where understanding the nature of the
cellular immune response is critical. This includes
our understanding of infectious diseases,
inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid diseases
and diabetes and the design of vaccines.
Cloning Sheep and Medical
Research
Dolly "the cloned sheep" represents a very
significant scientific breakthrough.The research
performed by Dr. Ian Wilmut and his team in
Scotland (Wilmut et al.1997 Nature 385:810-813) is
of fundamental importance, and shatters the dogma
that terminally differentiated somatic cells cannot
initiate embryonic development.
The method employed to create Dolly is based
upon a mainstream technique called nuclear
transfer:
How does this benefit mankind? Primarily by
providing medical researchers with the opportunity
to engineer transgenic animals that can produce
pharmaceutical products. Researchers are able to
insert DNA for specific proteins into animal cells
grown in culture, which could then be fused to a
suitable enucleated oocyte, to provide an animal
which produces the desired protein, for example, in
its milk. It has been estimated that a single cow
in this way could provide enough of an essential
blood clotting factor to supply the needs of the
entire world.
