Tasuku Honjo
| Tasuku Honjo | |
|---|---|
| 300px
Tasuku Honjo
|
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| Native name | 本庶 佑 |
| Born | January 27, 1942 Kyoto, Japan |
| Nationality | Japanese |
| Fields | Molecular Immunology |
| Institutions | Kyoto University |
| Alma mater | Kyoto University |
| Doctoral advisor | Yasutomi Nishizuka Osamu Hayaishi |
| Known for | Class switch recombination Interleukin 5 Interleukin 4 |
| Notable awards | Order of Culture (2013) Robert Koch Prize (2012) Imperial Prize of the Japan Academy (1996) Asahi Prize (1981) Tang Prize(2014)[1] |
Tasuku Honjo (本庶 佑 Honjo Tasuku?, born January 27, 1942 in Kyoto) is a Japanese immunologist, best known for his discovery of Activation-induced Cytidine Deaminase that is essential for class switch recombination and somatic hypermutation.[2] He is also known for his molecular identification of cytokines: IL-4 and IL-5.[3]
Biography
Honjo completed his M.D. in 1966 from the Faculty of Medicine, Kyoto University, where in 1975 he received his doctorate in Medical Chemistry under the supervision of Yasutomi Nishizuka and Osamu Hayaishi.[4] Since 1982 he has been Professor and Chairman of the Department of Medical Chemistry, Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine.[4]
Contribution
Honjo has established the basic conceptual framework of class switch recombination.[2] He presented a model explaining antibody gene rearrangement in class switch and, between 1980 and 1982, verified its validity by elucidating its DNA structure.[5] He succeeded in cDNA clonings of IL-4[6] and IL-5[7] cytokines involved in class switching and IL-2 receptor alpha chain in 1986, and went on further to discover Activation-induced Cytidine Deaminase[8] in 2000, demonstrating its importance in class switch recombination and somatic hypermutation.
Recognition
Honjo received many awards and honours including, the Order of Culture (2013), the Robert Koch Prize (2012), and the Imperial Prize of the Japan Academy (1996). He was elected as a foreign associate of the National Academy of Sciences, USA (2001), as a member of German Academy of Natural Scientists Leopoldina (2003), and also as a member of the Japan Academy (2005).
In 2014, Tasuku Honjo shared the inaugural Tang Prize in Biopharmaceutical Science with James Allison.[9]
References
- ↑ http://www.tang-prize.org/ENG/Publish.aspx?CNID=298
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Robert Koch Foundation confers award on Professors Honjo and Wimmer
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- ↑ 4.0 4.1 "免疫のしくみに魅せられて－何ごとにも主体的に挑む" Biography of Tasuku Honjo (Japanese)[1]
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External links
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- Articles with Japanese-language external links
- Pages with broken file links
- Articles containing Japanese-language text
- 1942 births
- Living people
- Japanese physicians
- Japanese immunologists
- Japanese molecular biologists
- Japanese biochemists
- Kyoto University alumni
- Kyoto University faculty
- Laureates of the Imperial Prize
- Recipients of the Order of Culture
- Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences
- Fellows of the German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina
