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A senior research associate for FNRS, Stanislas Goriely works at the Institute for Medical Immunology (IMI), a department of the Faculty of Medicine. His interests are immunology and gene regulation; more specifically, he studies the molecular mechanisms involved in controlling inflammation and the differentiation of cytotoxic T lymphocytes in order to develop new therapeutic approaches.


stanislas.goriely@ulb.ac.be

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October 2018 - Nobel Prize awarded to two immunologists

Stanislas Goriely, Institute for Medical Immunology (IMI)


Over the past ten years, immunology has been one of the most active areas of research in fundamental medicine. What kicked off this trend, Stanislas Goriely?

In its infancy, immunology was closely related to microbiology and ‘germ theory’. The discovery of the first vaccines and of microbes that caused infectious diseases set the stage for research in this area. Early milestones were set by Edward Jenner and Louis Pasteur, when they defined the basic concepts of vaccination. Later, in the early 20th century, as the first Nobel Prizes were given to immunology pioneers Élie Metchnikoff and Paul Ehrlich, the pace of discoveries picked up. A number of concepts were still being discovered as I was starting on my own thesis. Over the past decade, many of immunology's founding dogmas have been reviewed.

The entire discipline is now buzzing with activity. Not only must the immune system protect us from infection, but it must also let us live in harmony with the myriads of microbes that make up our gut and skin flora. Our organism is not made only of our body cells: it also includes all the micro-organisms upon which we rely to survive. When this was discovered, it radically changed how we view medicine in its entirety. For instance, it enabled us to understand that our immune system is ‘educated’ by all the microbes it encounters throughout our life, and even by what we eat! This system is constantly being reshaped, and it is far more complex than what we believed just ten or fifteen years ago.


Does this mean that all of our diseases are related to immunology?

As its role is to maintain the equilibrium of our organism, we are finding that the immune system plays a part in most diseases that afflict humans: infections, allergies, and autoimmune and inflammatory diseases, but also neurodegenerative diseases, cardiovascular diseases, and even cancer. We know that the immune system ‘monitors’ our organism looking for tumour cells. But tumours are constantly adapting and evading the immune response, which means the immune system is not always effective. This is where James Allison and Tasuku Honjo made a breakthrough. James Allison interfered with one factor that slows down the immune response by preventing our T lymphocytes from attacking tumour cells: the CTLA-4 molecule. This reactivated cells that were present but unable to perform their tumour-fighting function. Tasuku Honjo discovered another such ‘brake’ that slows down the immune system: the PD-1 molecule. These discoveries caused a significant stir in immunology and oncology, as they pave the way for virtually limitless combinations of traditional approaches and the various targets of immunotherapy!


What is the potential of immunotherapy for cancer?

We now know that it is possible to harness the immune system to fight cancer. The challenge is now to define precisely when such approaches are appropriate, and to prevent their secondary effects. We still need to learn why they work on certain patients and not on others, which will require much more fundamental research. But the immune system is now everywhere: we have gone through a paradigm shift and all our previous knowledge can be re-examined through the lens of immunology. This is promising… and fascinating!

Looking back

Monday, October 1

The Nobel Prize in Medicine is awarded to two researchers in immunology: James Allison (US) and Tasuku Honjo (Japan), for their discovery of cancer therapy by inhibition of negative immune regulation.

The immune system constantly ‘monitors’ the organism, preventing tumours from appearing. When cancer develops despite this, certain immune cells are present but unable to fight the tumour cells. What the two Nobel-winning immunotherapy approaches have taught us this year is that the immune response can be reactivated and, in certain cases, fight tumours with spectacular results. However, this does not work on all cancers, nor on all patients; finding a solution will be one of the main challenges in immunology today.