Ralph Steinman: dendritic cells bring home the Lasker

Abstract

Ralph Steinman is perhaps best known as a codiscoverer of dendritic cells (DCs) and as a founding father of the research area that these cells have spawned. For his discovery, Steinman was recently awarded the 2007 Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research. Yet the man behind the research holds his praise for the many other scientists-in the U.S. and abroad-who have further advanced the therapeutic promise of DCs.

Figure 1

Ralph M. Steinman

Figure 2

A phase–contrast image shows a dendritic cell.

Figure 3

Dendritic cells (brown) swarm around T cells (blue) to present them with antigen. COURTESY OF NIKOLAUS ROMANI

Figure 4

Immature dendritic cells (left) that capture antigen extend processes and mature into APCs (right). COURTESY OF GEROLD SCHULER AND NIKOLAUS ROMANI

Figure 5

MHC class II proteins (red) inside immature Langerhans cells (green) are expressed on the surface when the cells mature (bottom). COURTESY OF JULIANA IDOYAGA AND IRA MELLMAN