Nobel prize: How cells sense oxygen

Nobel prize: How cells sense oxygen

Nobel Prize 2019: Three scientists who discovered how cells sense and adapt to oxygen levels.

Sir Peter Ratcliffe, of the University of Oxford and Francis Crick Institute, William Kaelin, of Harvard, and Gregg Semenza, of Johns Hopkins University share the physiology or medicine prize.

Their work is leading to new treatments for anaemia and even cancer.

The role of oxygen-sensing is also being investigated in diseases from heart failure to chronic lung disease.
The Swedish Academy, which awards the prize, said: “The fundamental importance of oxygen has been understood for centuries, but how cells adapt to changes in levels of oxygen has long been unknown.”

Oxygen levels vary in the body, particularly:

  • during exercise
  • at high altitude
  • after a wound disrupts the blood supply

And when they drop, cells rapidly have to adapt their metabolism.

Why does this matter? The oxygen-sensing ability of the body has a role in the immune system and the earliest stages of development inside the womb.

If oxygen levels are low, it can trigger the production of red blood cells or the construction of blood vessels to remedy this.

More red blood cells mean the body is able to carry more oxygen and is why athletes train at altitude.

So, drugs that mimic it may be an effective treatment for anaemia. Full STory

 

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