Professor Jacek Radwan from the faculty of Biology AMU has been awarded the „Polish Nobel” prize, the most important scientific recognition in Poland, for his research achievements in the field of Life and Earth Sciences. He has defined the role of evolutionary mechanism of genetic diversity optimization in pathogens immunity shaping and own antigens tolerance.
Being an evolutionary biologist the laureate studies a number of important evolutionary issues like sexual selection and conflict, host-parasite co-evolution including the evolution of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) to name only a few.
Prof. Jacek Radwan’s research in immunological system, distinguished by the Foundation for the benefit of Polish Science, is aimed at explaining why the system isn’t always able to combat the pathogenic organisms.
Answering this question requires a closer look at how the major histocompatibility complex genes, responsible for the immunological response of our organism to different pathogens, function. These molecules expose fragments of proteins present in a cell to the organism immunological cells (lymphocytes T). The afore mentioned proteins are of dual origin: cell proteins as well as pathogens proteins. Lymphocytes T, responsible for activating the organism defense mechanisms, have the ability to recognize the exposed hostile proteins thanks to special receptors (TCR) and thus either annihilate the infected cell or stimulate production of antibodies. As the receptors appear in our organisms in millions of different variants the lymphocytes can detect the majority of proteins exposed by MHC molecules.
Therefore, the MHC genes play a crucial role in this process. Hypothetically the more diverse the MHC proteins are the higher the chance of exposing the pathogens proteins to the lymphocytes and thus provoking the immune response. Nevertheless the low number of such genes in human body may sometimes prevent the organism from counteracting pathogens. Why is it so? Why such low MHC proteins presence in human body?
The team led by Professor Jacek Radwan was the first to carry out an experimental study on hypothetical evolutionary compromise between the number of MHC genes and the number of lymphocyte T antigens receptors (TCR) enabling the pathogens elimination. According to the hypothesis, a bigger diversity of MHC variants could not only make it possible to expose a higher number of pathogens antigens but also higher number of normal body proteins. The cells representing their own normal proteins do not usually provoke an immune reaction owing to the fact that the lymphocytes carrying TCR, that could connect with them and cause autoagression are removed from the organism at an early stage of immune system development.
The empirical testing of the hypothesis has only been possible due to development of TCR variations identifying methods through a high-efficiency DNA sequencing to which Professor Jacek Radwan’s team has made a significant contribution. Since 2017 these methods have been used to carry out research on Myodes glareolus (bank vole), chosen as a model because of an exceptionally high level of inter-individual genes number diversity in genomes. Conducted research has confirmed the assumptions concerning the evolutionary compromise between MHC and TCR. It has been demonstrated that a greater diversity of MCH class I, which bind the virus’ proteins and other intracellular pathogens, was related to a lower number of TCR receptors. The research results have been published in PNAS magazine.
The research has also shown that TCR diversity does not relate to MHC class II genes, responsible for binding extracellular pathogens’ proteins, such as different types of bacteria. The team’s next goals are to clarify this astonishing difference as well explain why male individuals are characterized by a lower number of TCR than the female ones, as the research has also demonstrated.
The Foundation for the benefit of Polish Science price is awarded for special scientific discoveries and achievements that push the boundaries of knowledge, open new cognitive perspectives, contribute considerably to the cultural and scientific progress of our civilization as well as enable Poland to take up ambitious challenges and thus occupy a prominent place in the world of International science. The award is granted individually by the FNP Foundation Board through competition in four areas: Life and Earth Sciences, Chemical and Material Sciences, Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences as well as Human and Social Sciences. The candidates to the Foundation award are put forward by eminent representatives of science personally invited by the Foundation Management and Board. The FNP Board holds the position of the Competition Jury and is responsible for appointing the winners based upon opinions of independent foreign experts and reviewers studying the overall scientific output of the candidates.
Professor Jacek Radwan graduated from the Jagielloński University, Faculty of Biology in 1987, where in 1992 he was awarded the academic degree of Doctor. Five years later he was conferred habilitation rights and granted the title of Professor. Since 2020 he has been a corresponding member of Polish Academy of Sciences. Professor Radwan holds the position of Deputy Chairman of the PAN Environmental and Evolutionary Biology Committee.
Throughout his professional career he has worked at the Jagielloński University Institute of Environmental Sciences, at the Institute of Biology of the Pedagogical University in Cracow and at the PAN Environmental Protection Institute. Since 2012 he has been working at the Faculty of Biology of Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań.
Prof. Jacek Radwan has carried out a scientific research as a scholarship holder in the Oxford University, the University of Sheffield, the Max Planck Institute for Behavioral Physiology in Germany (as part of the Humboldt scholarship) and in the University of New Mexico in the United States (as part of the Fulbright Programme). His achievements have frequently gained recognition of the Rectors of both Jagielloński and Adam Mickiewicz Universities. He was also granted the professor’s Mistrz programme subsidy – the Foundation for the benefit of Polish Science and the Ministry of Science and Higher Education award.
Prof. Jacek Radwan has published 121 articles, quoted over 3,5 thousand times, which equals 34th position in the Hirsh Index. During the past 2 years his articles were quoted 340 and 343 times respectively, which is an outstanding achievement in the field of evolutionary biology. Professor has also been the editor of the Polish version of „Evolution”, a book by Douglas J. Futuyma, being the fundamental evolutionary biology course book for students.
Fot. Magdalena Wiśniewska-Krasińska