Discoverer of PD-1 and researcher on its function

Tasuku Honjo

Kyoto University (laboratory)

Discovered PD-1 in 1992 and, in a series of experiments over many years at Kyoto University, showed that it acts as a brake on T cells. Last author listed on the 1992 EMBO Journal paper on induced expression of PD-1, and joint recipient with James Allison of the 2018 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.

Milestones

1992 PD-1 gene found in dying cells; later shown to be a T-cell brake

Sources

Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institutet. The 2018 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine: press release. 1 October 2018. NobelPrize.org.
Source
Ishida Y, Agata Y, Shibahara K, Honjo T. Induced expression of PD-1, a novel member of the immunoglobulin gene superfamily, upon programmed cell death. EMBO J. 1992;11(11):3887-95.
PubMed DOI