Breakthrough Prize 2020 for biochemist Hartl and geneticist Horwich
F.-Ulrich Hartl, Director at the Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry in Martinsried, is awarded the Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences 2020 together with Arthur L. Horwich of Yale School of Medicine/HHMI. They are honored for discovering functions of molecular chaperones in mediating protein folding and preventing protein aggregation. If proteins are not folded correctly, they can aggregate – a major cause of nerodegenerative diseases. The prize will be awarded on November 3 in Silicon Valley, USA and is the highest endowed science prize in the world with 3 million US dollars.
Proteins are small molecular machines within each cell and take over a variety of tasks. In order to perform these tasks, newly produced immature chain-like proteins have to fold into a specific, three-dimensional structure. In the 1980s, Hartl and colleagues, in collaboration with Horwich, demonstrated that most of the proteins do not fold spontaneously. Rather, they need assistance in their folding process by so-called molecular chaperones. At the time, this finding contradicted the general dogma. The scientists discovered that certain chaperones are cage-like ‘folding machines’. They offer a protected environment to newly produced proteins, allowing them to fold into their correct functional structure.
Misfolded proteins clump together to form toxic aggregates and are one of the main causes of severe neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease or Parkinson’s disease. Furthermore, protein misfolding plays an essential role in aging. The findings on chaperone functions make a significant contribution to the development of new therapeutic strategies.
Other news from the department science
