2021 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine: Unlocking the Secrets of Touch and Temperature
4 Outubro 2021
Escrito por Francisco H. C. FelixThe 2021 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded to David Julius and Ardem Patapoutian, for their discoveries of receptors for temperature and touch.
Julius and Patapoutian, working independently, unlocked the molecular mechanisms that allow living beings to feel heat, cold, and pressure, opening doors to new discoveries in areas such as pain, disease treatment, and neuroscience.
David Julius, from the University of California, San Francisco, used capsaicin, the substance that gives chili peppers their spiciness, to identify a sensory receptor in the skin that responds to heat.
This discovery led to the identification of a family of sensory receptors, called TRP (Transient Receptor Potential), which are responsible for detecting different temperatures, from extreme heat to intense cold.
Ardem Patapoutian, from the Scripps Research Institute in California, in turn, focused on identifying sensory receptors for pressure. Using cultured cells in the laboratory, he developed a system to identify cells that responded to mechanical stimuli.
With this system, Patapoutian managed to identify a new type of receptor, called Piezo1 and Piezo2, that respond to pressure and the deformation of the cell membrane. These receptors are important for the sensation of touch, blood pressure, and proprioception, the ability to sense the body’s position in space.
The discoveries of Julius and Patapoutian revolutionized the understanding of sensory mechanisms, paving the way for the development of new drugs to treat a variety of conditions, such as chronic pain, inflammatory diseases, and neurological diseases.
The 2021 Nobel Prize recognizes the fundamental importance of the discoveries of Julius and Patapoutian, who unlocked the secrets of touch and temperature, sensations that are essential for our interaction with the world and for our survival.