Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine Awarded for Groundbreaking MicroRNA Research
Published on October 2, 2023
This year’s Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine has been awarded to American biologists Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun for their pivotal work in the discovery of microRNA, a critical component governing how gene activity is regulated.
The duo’s research has unveiled the complex processes through which genes contribute to the development of various cell types within the human body, which is fundamentally known as gene regulation.
MicroRNA, a unique family of molecules, facilitates the control of protein synthesis by cells, an essential function that has evolved over hundreds of millions of years. Ambros and Ruvkun were the first to characterize this remarkable phenomenon.
The Nobel Prize committee announced the prestigious award in Sweden on Monday, recognizing the scientists’ “groundbreaking discovery,” which the committee stated “revealed an entirely new dimension to gene regulation.”
Ambros, a professor of natural science at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, performed his notable research while at Harvard University. Meanwhile, Ruvkun, who works as a professor of genetics at Harvard Medical School, conducted his research at Massachusetts General Hospital.
The Nobel committee detailed the significance of their work, likening the information encoded within chromosomes to an instruction manual for all cells in the body. Despite all cells housing the same chromosomes and genes, they exhibit distinct characteristics, such as those found in muscle and nerve cells.
The distinction arises through gene regulation, allowing each cell type to activate only the relevant set of genes. This mechanism is crucial in maintaining the diversity of cellular functions, a cornerstone of multicellular life.
“Gene regulation by microRNA has been essential for the evolution of increasingly complex organisms,” said the committee. “Dysregulation can lead to significant health issues, including various cancers, hearing loss, and skeletal disorders.”
In their early research, the pair examined the genetic makeup of the minute roundworm, C. elegans, which possesses specialized cell types common to larger animals, thus providing insight into the developmental processes of multicellular organisms.
The first microRNA was discovered by Ambros in 1993, initially considered an anomaly specific to C. elegans. However, this perception shifted dramatically following Ruvkun’s discovery of similar microRNAs throughout the animal kingdom.
Olle Kämpe, a professor in endocrinology at the Karolinska Institutet and vice chair of the Nobel medicine committee, commented, “That 1993 discovery was met with ‘deafening silence,’ initially thought irrelevant to humans, until the field exploded. Now, tens of thousands of microRNAs have been identified in diverse organisms.”
The Nobel recognition for Ambros and Ruvkun had been anticipated for years, according to David Pendlebury, head of research analysis at Clarivate’s Institute for Scientific Information.
The Nobel Prize carries a considerable cash award amounting to 11 million Swedish kronor (approximately $1 million). Last year, Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman received the prize for their pivotal contributions to mRNA vaccines, instrumental in combating the COVID-19 pandemic.