Don Mason (immunologist)

For other people named Don Mason, see Don Mason (disambiguation).

Don Mason
Born1934 (1934)
Died13 January 2021(2021-01-13) (aged 86–87)
CitizenshipBritish
Known forWork on Regulatory T Cells
Scientific career
InstitutionsAtomic Energy Research Establishment, Sir William Dunn School of Pathology, University of Oxford

Donald W. Mason (1934 – 13 January 2021) was a British immunologist and professor of immunology in the MRC Cellular Immunology Unit at the Sir William Dunn School of Pathology at the University of Oxford. Professor Mason is best known for his work on regulatory T cells and their role in preventing autoimmunity. His distinction was recognised by his election in 2017[1] to honorary life membership of the British Society for Immunology.[2]

Notable work[edit]

Although Mason began his research career as a physicist studying controlled thermonuclear fusion,[3][4] he is best known for his work on cellular immunology, summarised in outline here.[5][6][7][8] Mason's most important contributions to immunology were his studies defining the existence, cell surface phenotype and function of regulatory T cells. Mason's research identified the immuno-regulatory capacity of a population of CD4+ T cells that express low levels of OX22 (an isoform of CD45: CD45RC in rats and CD45RB in mice[9]) and their capacity to prevent the pathogenic activity of the OX22hi subset.[10] While he carried out studies into multiple sclerosis,[11] the work for which he is most recognised focused mainly on the role of Tregs in the prevention of diabetes[12] and thyroiditis[13] and highlighted the role for the thymus in the development of Tregs.[14][9] These were among the earliest demonstrations of the requirement for Treg in restraining the pathogenic activity of CD4+ T cells and prevention of autoimmunity.[15] Mason retired from research in 1999.[8]

Personal life[edit]

Mason was a vegan and a Quaker.[6] He became a vegan in 1977.[8] In 2006, he authored Science, Mystical Experience and Religious Belief: A Personal View.[16] This contains his reflections on the scope and limitations of science, and his contemplations of "The Broader View".[17]

Mason died aged 86 on 13 January 2021.[6]

Selected publications[edit]

  • Science, Mystical Experience and Religious Belief: A Personal View (2006)

References[edit]

  1. ^ "New Honorary Members for BSI". British Society for Immunology. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
  2. ^ "Honorary members | British Society for Immunology".
  3. ^ Gibson, A.; Mason, D.W. (1962). "Energy Loss Processes in ZETA". Proceedings of the Physical Society. 79 (2): 326–350. Bibcode:1962PPS....79..326G. doi:10.1088/0370-1328/79/2/312.
  4. ^ Gibson, A.; Mason, D.W. (1969). "Binary Collision Losses in Stellarators". Plasma Physics. 11 (2): 121–129. Bibcode:1969PlPh...11..121G. doi:10.1088/0032-1028/11/2/004.
  5. ^ Seddon, B.; Powrie, F.; Barclay, N. (2021). "Don Mason (1934-2021)". Nature Immunology. 22 (4): 395. doi:10.1038/s41590-021-00884-7. Retrieved 15 March 2021.
  6. ^ a b c "Leading Immunologist and Dunn School Alumnus Don Mason - Obituary".
  7. ^ "Behind the picture: Don Mason and his T cell legacy". Medical Research Council. Retrieved 15 March 2021.
  8. ^ a b c "Don Mason Obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 15 March 2021.
  9. ^ a b Saoudi A, Seddon B, Heath V, Fowell D, Mason D (1996). "The physiological role of regulatory T cells in the prevention of autoimmunity: the function of the thymus in the generation of the regulatory T cell subset". Immunological Reviews. 149: 195–216. doi:10.1111/j.1600-065x.1996.tb00905.x. PMID 9005215. S2CID 40160832.
  10. ^ Powrie F, Mason D (1990). "OX-22high CD4+ T cells induce wasting disease with multiple organ pathology: prevention by the OX-22low subset". Journal of Experimental Medicine. 172 (6): 1701–8. doi:10.1084/jem.172.6.1701. PMC 2188779. PMID 2258700.
  11. ^ Esther M. Sternberg (2001), The Balance Within: The Science Connecting Health and Emotions, USA: Times Books, p. 97, ISBN 978-0-7167-4445-0
  12. ^ Fowell D, Mason D (1993). "Evidence that the T cell repertoire of normal rats contains cells with the potential to cause diabetes. Characterization of the CD4+ T cell subset that inhibits this autoimmune potential". Journal of Experimental Medicine. 177 (3): 627–36. doi:10.1084/jem.177.3.627. PMC 2190953. PMID 8094734.
  13. ^ Seddon B, Mason D (1999). "Regulatory T cells in the control of autoimmunity: the essential role of transforming growth factor beta and interleukin 4 in the prevention of autoimmune thyroiditis in rats by peripheral CD4(+)CD45RC- cells and CD4(+)CD8(-) thymocytes". Journal of Experimental Medicine. 189 (2): 279–88. doi:10.1084/jem.189.2.279. PMC 2192980. PMID 9892610.
  14. ^ Saoudi A, Seddon B, Mason D (1996). "The thymus contains a high frequency of cells that prevent autoimmune diabetes on transfer into prediabetic recipients". Journal of Experimental Medicine. 184 (6): 2393–8. doi:10.1084/jem.184.6.2393. PMC 2196374. PMID 8976193.
  15. ^ Sakaguchi S (2004). "Naturally arising CD4+ regulatory T cells for immunologic self-tolerance and negative control of immune responses". Annual Review of Immunology. 22: 531–62. doi:10.1146/annurev.immunol.21.120601.141122. PMID 15032588.
  16. ^ Mason, D.W. (2006). Science, Mystical Experience and Religious Belief. York, England: The Ebor Press - William Sessions. ISBN 1-85072-357-5.
  17. ^ Mason, Don. "The Broader View" (PDF). Fusion. University of Oxford. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
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