Nobel Prize

How do newly synthesized proteins find their correct destinations within a cell, and how are they able to pass across the tightly sealed intracellular membranes? These were the central questions that Günter Blobel began to address in the late 1960s. He started by analyzing how newly synthesized secretory proteins are first targeted to and then…

more

Presentation Speech by Professor Ralf Pettersson of the , December 10, 1999. Translation of the Swedish text. Professor Ralf Pettersson delivering the Presentation Speech for the 1999 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine at the Stockholm Concert Hall.   Your Majesties, Your Royal Highness, Ladies and Gentlemen, Imagine a large factory that manufactures…

more

In 1980 Blobel proposed that newly made proteins are targeted to and imported into the various organelles within the cell by built-in signal sequences. The signals are short stretches of amino acids encoded by the gene specifying the protein. They can be located at either end of the protein, or somewhere internally.

Scientific Advisors, Professors at Karolinska Institutet: Bo Angelin – Clinical Metabolism Bertil Daneholt – Molecular Genetics Hans Jörnvall – Physiological Chemistry Ralf Pettersson – Molecular Biology Nils Ringertz – Medical Cell Genetics and Secretary of the Nobel Assembly Art Director: Urban Frank Computer Graphics: Deborah Strand Medical Writer: Anders Nystrand Photo: Ilpo Okkonen,Oulu, Finland (Picture…

more

The organization of a cell can be compared to that of a big city such as New York. In order to reach its correct destination, a letter has to be provided with an address label and a zip code, similar to the address tags on proteins.

In many inherited diseases, proteins are mislocalized in the cell due to errors in targeting signals and transport. One example is “primary hyperoxaluria,” a rare disease, which results in kidney stones already at an early age. A signal in the enzyme alanine:glyoxylate aminotransferase normally directs it to the peroxisome. In patients, this signal is altered…

Contents:    These pages are based on material from the 1999 Physiology or Medicine Nobel Poster.