Doherty, Peter C.

Doherty, Peter C.

▪ Australian scientist
born Oct. 15, 1940, Australia

      Australian immunologist and pathologist who, with Rolf Zinkernagel (Zinkernagel, Rolf M.) of Switzerland, received the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in 1996 for their discovery of how the body's immune system distinguishes virus-infected cells from normal cells.

      Doherty earned bachelor's (1962) and master's (1966) degrees in veterinary medicine from the University of Queensland but switched to pathology while earning his doctorate (1970) from the University of Edinburgh, Scot. While conducting research (1972–75) at the John Curtin School of Medical Research in Canberra, Doherty began collaborating with Zinkernagel in studying what role the white blood cells known as T lymphocytes (T cells) play in mice infected with a particular type of virus able to cause meningitis. They theorized that it was the strength of the immune response itself that caused the fatal destruction of brain cells in mice infected with this virus. To test this theory, they mixed virus-infected mouse cells with T lymphocytes from other infected mice. The T lymphocytes did destroy the virus-infected cells, but only if the infected cells and the lymphocytes came from a genetically identical strain of mice; the T lymphocytes would ignore virus-infected cells that had been taken from another strain of mice. Further research showed that T cells must recognize two separate signals on an infected cell before they will destroy it. One signal is a fragment of the invading virus that the cell displays on its surface; the other is a self-identifying tag from the cell's major histocompatibility complex (human leukocyte antigen) (MHC) antigens, which identify a cell as belonging to one's own body. This concept of the simultaneous recognition of both self and foreign molecules formed the basis for a new understanding of the general mechanisms used by the immune system at the cellular level.

      After teaching at the Wistar Institute in Philadelphia, Pa. (1975–82), Doherty headed the department of pathology at the Curtin School in Canberra (1982–88) and became chairman of the department of immunology at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tenn., in 1988.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • Doherty , Peter Charles — (1940–) Australian immunologist Doherty was educated at Queensland and later at Edinburgh, where he gained his PhD in 1970. After serving at the Wistar Institute in Philadelphia, he was appointed in 1982 professor of experimental pathology at the …   Scientists

  • Doherty, Peter Charles — born Oct. 15, 1940, Australia Australian immunologist and pathologist. He earned a Ph.D. at the University of Edinburgh. With Rolf M. Zinkernagel, he found that T cells from mice infected with a meningitis virus destroyed virus infected cells… …   Universalium

  • Doherty, Peter Charles — (n. 15 oct. 1940, Australia). Inmunólogo y patólogo australiano. Obtuvo su Ph.D. en la Universidad de Edimburgo. Con Rolf M. Zinkernagel descubrió que las células T de las ratas infectadas con un virus de meningitis destruían sólo las células… …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Peter C. Doherty — Peter Charles Doherty (* 15. Oktober 1940 nahe Brisbane, Australien) ist ein australischer Immunologe. Doherty erwarb 1962 den Bachelor und 1966 den Master in Veterinärmedizin an der University of Queensland. Seinen PhD erhielt er 1970 von der… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Peter Charles Doherty — (* 15. Oktober 1940 nahe Brisbane, Australien) ist ein australischer Immunologe. Doherty erwarb 1962 den Bachelor und 1966 den Master in Veterinärmedizin an der University of Queensland. Seinen PhD erhielt er 1970 von der Universität Edinburgh in …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Doherty — Peter Charles …   Scientists

  • Doherty — Doherty,   Peter C., australischer Immunologe, * Brisbane 15. 10. 1940; arbeitet seit 1988 in der Immunologieabteilung des Sankt Jude Children s Research Hospital in Memphis (Tennessee). Für den Nachweis, dass zur Abwehr von Viren zwei… …   Universal-Lexikon

  • Peter Doherty (footballeur) — Pour les articles homonymes, voir Doherty. Peter Doherty …   Wikipédia en Français

  • peter — peter1 /pee teuhr/, v.i. peter out 1. to diminish gradually and stop; dwindle to nothing: The hot water always peters out in the middle of my shower. 2. to tire; exhaust (usually used as a past participle): I m petered out after that walk. [1805… …   Universalium

  • Peter — /pee teuhr/, n. 1. Also called Simon Peter. died A.D. 67?, one of the 12 apostles and the reputed author of two of the Epistles. 2. either of these two Epistles in the New Testament, I Peter or II Peter. 3. a word formerly used in communications… …   Universalium

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