Nobel Prize in Physiology awarded for the discovery of temperature receptors and touch

(Nobelprize.org)

The Nobel Prize in Physiology in 2021 was awarded to David Julius and Ardem Patapoutian.

One of them discovered the temperature receptor; the other, the touch receptor.

The first important discovery in this story was made by David Julius in the late 1990s. He investigated the reaction of cells to capsaicin.

By that time, scientists already knew that it was somehow connected with pain, but it was not known how exactly the cells react to it.

Julius and his team isolated the capsaicin receptor, TRPV1, and then, studying its physical properties, found that it is sensitive to temperature

This receptor is also activated at about the temperatures that cause pain.

The laureates made the second discovery simultaneously, but independently.

In 2002, Julius and Patapoutian, pushing away from the work of the first on thermoreceptors, discovered a receptor for cold, TRPM8, which is excited on cells by menthol.

Finally, having dealt with the receptors for temperature sensitivity, Paraputyan switched to mechanical sensitivity.

He discovered first one, and then the second receptor that respond to touching neurons: Piezo1 and Piezo2.

Subsequently, it turned out that they provide not only touch, but also proprioception, that is, a sense of the position of the body in space.

Both receptors also participate in the transmission of mechanical signals from internal organs, like, distended lungs or the bladder.

Every year, the Nobel Prize winners come across someone from the Clarivate list, a company that compiles a list of possible winners based on the citation of their articles.

This year, for example, the agency's forecast included the discoverers of the nicotinic receptor, hantaviruses, and interleukin-6.

Interleukin-6 led to the creation of one of the potential drugs for COVID-19.

But the company did not guess with Julius and Pataputyan: their names did not appear in any of the Clarivate lists.

However, they have already shared two prestigious awards: the Kavli Prize in Neuroscience in 2020 and the Frontiers of Knowledge Award in 2021.

Source:

• Nobel Prize: https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/medicine/2021/press-release/

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