Numerous symphonies and concertos were composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Ludwig van Beethoven. New World Symphony was composed by Antonín Dvořák. The Mona Lisa was painted by Leonardo da Vinci and Guernica by Pablo Picasso. We each have our own favorite music and artworks, always associated with the names of their creators. However, only a few scientific discoveries are attached to the names of their discoverers in the memories of younger generations of students. Ask students, postdocs and even your faculty-level colleagues who discovered a major cytokine or oncogene, and most will not have the answer. It seems that most individuals do not pay attention to these discoverers as much as they do the discoveries. One could argue that scientific research is in essence the anonymous pursuit of objective knowledge. However, the lives of eminent scientists and their influence in their fields are often interesting and noteworthy. Kimishige Ishizaka’s scientific achievements and life fall well into this category.
In the field of allergy, IgE is one of the most important factors in research as well as clinical practice. However, the search for the factor termed ‘reagin’ that causes allergy was not straightforward (Annu. Rev. Immunol. 36, 1–18, 2018). Observations made by Otto Prausnitz and Heinz Küstner in the 1920s showed that a subcutaneous injection of serum from an allergic donor followed by injection of specific antigen results in erythema and wheal responses. Using this so-called PK reaction, reagin was long believed to be IgA. However, Kimi’s team demonstrated that reagin was not IgA, but a minor contaminating component of IgA preparations. This rare fraction with PK activity was found to have novel physicochemical properties different from those of any of the then-known antibody isotypes—IgM, IgD, IgG and IgA. Eventually, the identity of reagin was established as the novel antibody isotype IgE. Kimi also showed that IgE receptors reside on mast cells and basophils, the culprit cells in allergic reactions. The discovery of IgE opened a new era of allergy research and eventually led to novel anti-IgE therapies for asthma and other diseases. His achievements brought him many accolades: he was inducted into the National Academy of Sciences of the United States and became the president of the American Association of Immunologists. He was bestowed with the highest honor for a Japanese person, the Order of Culture. He also received the Japan Prize, after which the LJI established the Kimishige and Teruko Ishizaka lectureship in 2002.
