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. 2008 Jul;9(7):705-12.
doi: 10.1038/ni0708-705.

Immunology's foundation: the 100-year anniversary of the Nobel Prize to Paul Ehrlich and Elie Metchnikoff

Stefan H E Kaufmann  1
Affiliations

Immunology's foundation: the 100-year anniversary of the Nobel Prize to Paul Ehrlich and Elie Metchnikoff

Stefan H E Kaufmann. Nat Immunol. 2008 Jul.

Abstract

One hundred years ago the birth of immunology was made official by the Nobel Prize award to Elie Metchnikoff and Paul Ehrlich. Metchnikoff discovered phagocytosis by macrophages and microphages as a critical host-defense mechanism and thus is considered the father of cellular innate immunity. Ehrlich described the side-chain theory of antibody formation and the mechanisms of how antibodies neutralize toxins and induce bacterial lysis with the help of complement and thus is considered one of the fathers of humoral adaptive immunity. Despite many discordant discussions in the initial phase after these discoveries, innate and adaptive responses are now known to be complementary partners in producing robust immunity.

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Comment in

  • Celebrating great ideas.
    [No authors listed] [No authors listed] Nat Immunol. 2008 Jul;9(7):693. doi: 10.1038/ni0708-693a. Nat Immunol. 2008. PMID: 18563073 No abstract available.

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