The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for 2021 used chili peppers to answer a conundrum about how our bodies respond to temperature and touch.
David Julius, PhD, and Ardem Patapoutian, PhD, received the award for their independent research on how temperature and stimuli are translated into electrical impulses in the nervous system.
"These breakthrough discoveries launched intense research activities leading to a rapid increase in our understanding of how our nervous system senses heat, cold, and mechanical stimuli," the committee wrote in a press release. "The Laureates identified critical missing links in our understanding of the complex interplay between our senses and the environment."
They discovered two proteins involved in the body's interpretation of excessive hot or cold temperatures as painful, as well as two genes involved in touch and pressure sensing.
According to the Nobel committee, scientists already knew that different types of sensory nerve fibers react to different stimuli such as painful and non-painful touch. However, it was unclear which genes and proteins were responsible for the responses.
Julius looked into how capsaicin, a chemical component found in chili peppers, causes pain. Julius and his team discovered a single gene that renders cells responsive to capsaicin through extensive laboratory testing. They subsequently discovered that the gene encodes an unique protein known as TRPV1, which is responsible for the body's pain perception of heat.
Respectively, Julius and Patapoutian discovered a new protein, TRPM8, that is responsible for our bodies' perception of cold temperatures as painful.
Patapoutian also discovered a receptor that is activated by pressure or touch. He utilized a tiny poking tool to find two genes that were directly triggered by pressure.
These genes are now known as Piezo1 and Piezo2, after the Greek words for pressure (píesh; píesi).
Julius and Patapoutian's discoveries provided insight on how our nervous system registers touch and temperature. Future research may be able to leverage these findings to develop remedies for illnesses such as persistent pain.
Their discovery could also provide the groundwork for the creation of safer alternatives to opioid medicines, which can be used to manage chronic pain but can also lead to substance use disorders in some people.
The new findings could have implications for doctors who work with long-term COVID patients, many of whom have complained of medical neglect or misdiagnosis.
The discoveries were made more than a decade ago, but they were particularly poignant given the coronavirus pandemic, according to Abdel El Manira, an adjunct member of the Nobel Committee for Physiology and Medicine.
