Ralph M. Steinman | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Ralph Marvin Steinman (1943-01-14)January 14, 1943 Montreal, Quebec, Canada |
| Died | September 30, 2011(2011-09-30) (aged 68)[2] Manhattan, New York, U.S. |
| Alma mater | McGill University(B.S., 1963) Harvard University(M.D., 1968) |
| Known for | Discovery ofdendritic cells and their role in adaptive immunity |
| Spouse | Claudia Hoeffel (3 children)[3] |
| Awards | Robert Koch Prize(1999) Gairdner Foundation International Award(2003) Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine(2011) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Immunology Cell Biology |
| Institutions | Rockefeller University in New York City |
| Academic advisors | Elizabeth Hay (Harvard) James G. Hirsch andZanvil A. Cohn (Rockefeller University)[1] |
Ralph Marvin Steinman (January 14, 1943 – September 30, 2011)[2] was aCanadian physician and medical researcher atRockefeller University, who in 1973 discovered and nameddendritic cells while working as a postdoctoral fellow in the laboratory ofZanvil A. Cohn, also at Rockefeller University.[4][5] Steinman was one of the recipients of the 2011Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.
Ralph Steinman was born into anAshkenazi Jewish family inMontreal,[6][7][8] one of four children of Irving Steinman (d. 1995), ahaberdasher, and Nettie Steinman (born Takefman, 1917–2016).[9][10][11] The family soon moved toSherbrooke, where the father opened and ran a small clothing store, "Mozart's." After graduating from Sherbrooke High School, Steinman moved back to Montreal, where he stayed with his maternal grandparents, Nathan and Eva Takefman.[12][13] He received a bachelor of science degree fromMcGill University and received his M.D. (magna cum laude)[2] in 1968 fromHarvard Medical School. He completed his internship and residency atMassachusetts General Hospital.[14]
On October 3, 2011, theNobel Committee for Physiology or Medicine announced that he had received one half of theNobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, for "his discovery of thedendritic cell and its role inadaptive immunity". The other half went toBruce Beutler andJules A. Hoffmann, for "their discoveries concerning the activation ofinnate immunity".[15] However, the committee was not aware that he had died three days earlier, on September 30, frompancreatic cancer. This created a complication, since the statutes of the Nobel Foundation stipulate that the prize is not to be awarded posthumously.[16][17] After deliberation, the committee decided that as the decision to award the prize "was made in good faith", it would remain unchanged, and the prize would be awarded.[18][19]
Steinman's daughter said that he had joked the previous week with his family about staying alive until the prize announcement. Steinman said: "I know I have got to hold out for that. They don't give it to you if you have passed away. I got to hold out for that."[20]
Steinman had received numerous other awards and recognitions for his lifelong work on dendritic cells, such as theAlbert Lasker Award For Basic Medical Research (2007), theGairdner Foundation International Award (2003), and the Cancer Research InstituteWilliam B. Coley Award (1998). In addition, he was made a member ofInstitute of Medicine (U.S.; elected 2002) and theNational Academy of Sciences (U.S.; elected 2001).
In 2016, the city of Sherbrooke, Quebec, where Steinman lived during his childhood, named a new street rue Ralph Steinman, in honour of the only Sherbrooke native ever to win a Nobel Prize.[21]
 | This sectiondoes notcite anysources. Please helpimprove this section byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged andremoved.(July 2021) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Immunology tries to understand resistance to infection. Infections are first resisted byinnate immunity, followed byadaptive immunity, which has memory and can prevent reinfection. Two questions that immunologists ask: 1) By what mechanisms do innate and adaptive resistance come about? 2) How do these mechanisms contribute to other fields of medicine such as cancer, allergy, autoimmunity, etc.? In the 20th century, two theories arose: 1) Macrophages contribute to innate resistance through phagocytosis and intracellular killing 2) Antibodies mediate adaptive resistance by neutralizing microbial toxins.
Steinman discovered that dendritic cells link innate to adaptive immunity, including adaptive T cell-mediated immunity. He studied the initiation of antibody responses in tissue culture in the laboratory. Steinman found that antigens, lymphocytes, and "accessory cells" together create immune responses. Accessory cells contain a new cell type with probing cell process or "dendrites". These cells proved to be the missing link between innate and adaptive immunity.
Several features were used to identify and purify dendritic cells from mouse spleen. Because dendritic cells were discovered among "adherent" accessory cells (i.e. those that attach to tissue culture surfaces), they had to be distinguished from macrophages, whose hallmarks were persistent phagocytosis and adherence to tissue culture surfaces. However, Steinman found that dendritic cells had a different morphology and expressed different molecules from macrophages. For example, they did not express FcR- receptors, but did express major components of the major histocompatibility complex II and did not adhere to surfaces or exploit phagocytosis. Macrophages, though, showed the opposite characteristics. The study was carried out in collaboration withZanvil A. Cohn, who studied resistance to infectious diseases, especially the biology of macrophages.
Some general features of T cell responses that are initiated by dendritic cells (DCs):
DCs capture, process and present antigens:
While at Harvard, he spent a year as a research fellow in the laboratory of Elizabeth Hay ... He joined The Rockefeller University in 1970 as a postdoctoral fellow in the Laboratory of Cellular Physiology and Immunology headed by physician-scientists Zanvil A. Cohn and James G. Hirsch
The Nobel foundation concluded that the award should stand, saying: "The Nobel prize to Ralph Steinman was made in good faith, based on the assumption that the Nobel laureate was alive."
