Susumu tonegawa wiki

In , Tonegawa also discovered a transcriptional enhancer element associated with antibody gene complex, the first cellular enhancer element. Shortly following his Nobel Prize, Tonegawa again changed fields from immunology to neuroscience, where he has focused his research in the ensuing years. Tonegawa's lab pioneered introductory transgenic and gene-knockout technologies in mammalian systems.

Tonegawa's lab discovered that dendritic neuronal spines in the temporal cortex are a likely target for treatment of Fragile X Syndrome. Tonegawa was an early adopter of optogenetics and biotechnology in neuroscience research, leading to his groundbreaking work identifying and manipulating memory engram cells. In , his lab demonstrated that the activation of a specific sub-population of mouse hippocampal neurons, labelled during a fear conditioning paradigm, is sufficient to evoke a behavioral response correlated with a precise memory trace.

This demonstrated for the first time that memory information is stored in specific cellular ensembles in the hippocampus , now frequently called memory engram cells. More recently, his lab continues to employ optogenetic technology and virus injection techniques to expand their findings on the engram cell ensemble. Notably, Tonegawa has uncovered the role of memory engram cell ensembles in memory valence, [ 7 ] social memory, as well as their role in brain disorders such as depression, [ 8 ] amnesia, [ 9 ] and Alzheimer's disease.

These works provide proofs of concept for future medical treatments in humans through the manipulation of memory engram ensembles. Tonegawa is a fan of the Boston Red Sox, and threw out an opening pitch during their World Series championship season. Contents move to sidebar hide. Article Talk. Read Edit View history. Tools Tools. Download as PDF Printable version.

In other projects. Wikimedia Commons Wikidata item. Japanese scientist born Nagoya, Japan. Masaki Hayashi Renato Dulbecco [ citation needed ]. Early life and education [ edit ]. Career [ edit ].

Susumu tonegawa wiki

Research [ edit ]. Immunology [ edit ]. Neuroscience [ edit ]. Personal life [ edit ]. Selected awards and honors [ edit ]. Although he won the Nobel Prize for his work in immunology , Tonegawa is a molecular biologist by training. In his later years, he has turned his attention to the molecular and cellular basis of memory. Tonegawa is best known for elucidating the genetic mechanism in the adaptive immune system.

If each antibody was coded by one gene , it would take millions of genes to protect against antigens. Instead, as Tonegawa showed in a landmark series of experiments beginning in , genetic material can rearrange itself to form the vast array of available antibodies. The main mechanism is called RNA splicing. Antibodies have a 'variable region' in their structure.

Tonegawa compared the DNA of B cells a type of white blood cell in embryonic and adult mice. He found that genes in the mature B cells of the adult mice are moved around, recombined, and deleted to make the many versions of the variable region of antibodies. Michael Bishop i Harold E. Joseph E. Murray i E. Edmond H. Fischer i Edwin G.

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