César Milstein

César Milstein
César Milstein

Born 8 October 1927(1927-10-08)
Bahia Blanca, Argentina
Died 24 March 2002(2002-03-24) (aged 74)
Cambridge, England
Nationality Argentina, United Kingdom
Fields Biochemistry
Alma mater University of Buenos Aires , University of Cambridge
Known for Receiving Nobel Prize "for theories concerning the specificity in development and control of the immune system and the discovery of the principle for production of monoclonal antibodies"
Notable awards Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (1984)
Wolf Prize in Medicine (1980)
Franklin Medal (1982)

César Milstein FRS[1] (8 October 1927 – 24 March 2002) was an Argentine biochemist in the field of antibody research.[2][3][4][5][6] Milstein shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1984 with Niels K. Jerne and Georges Köhler.[7][8][9][10]


Contents

Biography

Milstein was born in Bahía Blanca, Argentina, to a Jewish family. He graduated from the University of Buenos Aires and obtained a PhD under Professor Stoppani[11] (Professor of Biochemistry) in the Medical School on kinetic studies with the enzyme aldehyde dehydrogenase. In 1958, funded by the British Council, he joined the Biochemistry Department at the University of Cambridge to work for a PhD under Malcolm Dixon on the mechanism of metal activation of the enzyme phosphoglucomutase. During this work he collaborated with Frederick Sanger whose group he joined with a short-term Medical Research Council appointment.

Career

The major part of Milstein's research career was devoted to studying the structure of antibodies and the mechanism by which antibody diversity is generated. It was as part of this quest that in 1975 he, together with Georges Köhler (a postdoctoral fellow in his laboratory), developed the hybridoma technique for the production of monoclonal antibodies—a discovery recognised by the award of the 1984 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine. This discovery led to an enormous expansion in the exploitation of antibodies in science and medicine.

Milstein himself made many major contributions to improvements and developments in monoclonal antibody technology—especially focusing on the use of monoclonal antibodies to provide markers that allow distinction between different cell types. He also foresaw the potential wealth of ligand-binding reagents that could result from applying recombinant DNA technology to monoclonal antibodies and inspired the development of the field of antibody engineering.

Milstein's early work on antibodies focused on the nature of their diversity at the amino acid level as well as on the disulphide bonds by which they were held together. Part of this work was done in collaboration with his wife, Celia. The emphasis of his research then shifted towards the mRNA encoding antibodies where he was able to provide the first evidence for the existence of a precursor for these secreted polypeptides that contained a signal sequence. The development of the hybridoma technology coupled to advances in nucleic acid sequencing then allowed Milstein to chart the changes that occurred in antibodies following antigen encounter. He demonstrated the importance of somatic hypermutation of immunoglobulin V genes in antibody affinity maturation. In this process, localised mutation of the immunoglobulin genes allows the production of improved antibodies which make a major contribution to protective immunity and immunological memory. Much of his work in recent years was devoted to characterising this mutational process with a view to understanding its mechanism and, indeed, he contributed a manuscript for publication on this topic less than a week before he died.

Quite apart from his own achievements, Milstein acted as a guide and inspiration to many in the antibody field as well as devoting himself to assisting science and scientists in less developed countries. It is also worth mentioning, that even though the Nobel Prize would have made him a wealthy man, Milstein did not patent his enormous discovery since he believed that it was mankind's intellectual property. According to his beliefs, his work did not have any economic interest, only scientific.

He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1975, was a fellow of Darwin College, Cambridge from 1980 to 2002, awarded the Louisa Gross Horwitz Prize from Columbia University in 1980, won the Copley Medal in 1989, and became a Companion of Honour in 1995.

Milstein died early on 24 March 2002 in Cambridge, England at age 74 as a result of a heart condition from which he had suffered for many years.

References

  1. ^ Neuberger, M. S.; Askonas, B. A. (2005). "Cesar Milstein CH. 8 October 1927 - 24 March 2002: Elected F.R.S. 1974". Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society 51: 267. doi:10.1098/rsbm.2005.0017.  edit
  2. ^ Horenstein, A. L.; Ferrero, E.; Funaro, A.; Crivellin, F.; Said, M. (2002). "César Milstein, scientist (1927-2002)". Journal of biological regulators and homeostatic agents 16 (1): 91–92. PMID 12425336.  edit
  3. ^ Springer, Timothy A (June 2002). "César Milstein, the father of modern immunology". Nature Immunology 3 (6): 501–3. doi:10.1038/ni0602-501. PMID 12032559. 
  4. ^ Springer, Timothy A (May. 2002). "Immunology. Retrospective: César Milstein (1927-2002)". Science 296 (5571): 1253. doi:10.1126/science.1073325. PMID 12016298. 
  5. ^ Neuberger, Michael (April 2002). "César Milstein (1927-2002)". Current Biology 12 (9): R308–10. doi:10.1016/S0960-9822(02)00823-0. PMID 12007427. 
  6. ^ Rajewsky, Klaus (April 2002). "Obituary: César Milstein (1927-2002)". Nature 416 (6883): 806. doi:10.1038/416806a. PMID 11976669. 
  7. ^ Raju, T N (January 2000). "The Nobel chronicles. 1984: Niels Kai Jerne, (1911-94); César Milstein (b 1926); and Georges Jean Franz Köhler (1946-95)". The Lancet 355 (9197): 75. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(05)72025-0. PMID 10615922. 
  8. ^ Bolhuis, R L; Haaijman J J (December 1984). "[Nobel Prizes for immunology 1984 (Niels K. Jerne, Cesar Milstein, George Köhler)]". Nederlands Tijdschrift voor Geneeskunde 100 (52): 2433–5. PMID 6395024. 
  9. ^ Kaartinen, M. (1984). "The 1984 Nobel Prize in medicine (Cesar Milstein, George Köhler, Niels Jerne)". Duodecim; laaketieteellinen aikakauskirja 100 (23–24): 1573–1578. PMID 6394268.  edit
  10. ^ Onneby, M. (1984). "Immunology in theory and practice. Nils K Jerne shares the Nobel prize in medicine with Georges JF Köhler and Cesar Milstein". Nordisk medicin 99 (11): 300, 304. PMID 6393048.  edit
  11. ^ Stoppani, A. O.; Milstein, C. (1957). "Essential role of thiol groups in aldehyde dehydrogenases". The Biochemical journal 67 (3): 406–416. PMC 1200171. PMID 13479397. http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?tool=pmcentrez&artid=1200171.  edit



See also

  • List of Jewish Nobel laureates

External links


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужен реферат?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • César Milstein — Nacimiento 8 de octubre, 1927 Bahía Blanca, Argentina …   Wikipedia Español

  • Cesar Milstein — César Milstein (* 8. Oktober 1927 in Bahía Blanca, Argentinien; † 24. März 2002 in Cambridge, England) war ein argentinischer Molekularbiologe. Milstein wuchs als mittlerer von drei Söhnen eines jüdischen Immigranten und einer Lehrerin in… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • César Milstein — (* 8. Oktober 1927 in Bahía Blanca, Argentinien; † 24. März 2002 in Cambridge, England) war ein argentinischer Molekularbiologe. Milstein wuchs als mittlerer von drei Söhnen eines jüdischen Immigranten und einer Lehrerin in bescheidenen… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Cesar Milstein — César Milstein Pour les articles homonymes, voir Milstein. César Milstein (8 octobre 1927 24 mars 2002) est un biochimiste argentin qui passe la plus grande part de sa vie en Grande Bretagne. Son champ majeur de recherche concerne les anticorps,… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • César Milstein — Cesar Milstein (1927 2002), médico y bioquímico nacido en 1927, Bahía Blanca, Provincia de Buenos Aires, Argentina. Cesar Milstein fue uno de los científicos argentinos más prestigiosos del mundo. Estudió en el Colegio Nacional de Bahía Blanca y… …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • César Milstein — Pour les articles homonymes, voir Milstein. César Milstein. César Milstein (8 octobre 1927 24 mars 2002) est un biochimiste argentin qui passe la plus grande part de sa vie …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Cesar Milstein — n. (1927 2002) Anglo Argentinian immunologist who shared a 1984 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine (for developing a technique of producing monoclonal antibodies) …   English contemporary dictionary

  • Medizinnobelpreis 1984: Nils Kaj Jerne — Georges Köhler — César Milstein —   Jerne erhielt den Nobelpreis für seine Arbeiten über den spezifischen Aufbau und die Steuerung des Immunsystems, Köhler und der Argentinier Milstein für die Entdeckung des Prinzips der Produktion von monoklonalen Antikörpern.    Biografien  … …   Universal-Lexikon

  • Milstein — may refer to: The Milstein method in mathematics Buildings Milstein Hall, a new building in the Cornell University College of Architecture, Art, and Planning developed by the Office for Metropolitan Architecture Milstein Family Hall of Ocean Life …   Wikipedia

  • Milstein — ist der Familienname folgender Personen: Lewis Milestone (Lev Milstein, 1895 1980), US amerikanischer Filmregisseur, Drehbuchautor und Filmproduzent Nathan Milstein (1904–1992), US amerikanischer Violinist ukrainischer Herkunft Robert Merrill… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”