Nobel Prize in Medicine for research in oxygen deficiency adaptation

Three biologists from the United Kingdom and the United States got the award.

The 2019 Nobel Prize in Medicine was shared by scientists William Kaelin, Sir Peter Ratcliffe and Gregg Semyonza, who studied how the human body adapts to the lack of oxygen. 

It is a well-known fact that the human body needs oxygen for the normal cells functioning.   However, it has been unknown so far, how the cells react to changes in oxygen concentration and how they behave in case of oxygen deficiency or excess. The new Nobel Prize laureates have studied the processes of gene activity regulation as they relate to oxygen levels. This is a major discovery not only for fundamental medicine - it can help to develop drugs for a wide variety of diseases, including various types of cancer and renal failure. Other potential applications include developing therapies against high-altitude disease, relief for pregnancy aches and pains as well as new wound healing products.

The HIF protein complex plays a key role at the molecular level. It decomposes fairly quickly at normal oxygen concentrations. However, when the concentration of HIF drops, it becomes more stable and accumulates near the DNA areas encoding the erythropoietin hormone and activating its synthesis. Erythropoietin stimulates an increased production of red blood cells, responsible for oxygen transport. This is the way the body adapts to changing conditions, optimizing oxygen delivery in the body.