Dr. Marco Herold, of the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research's Molecular Genetics of Cancer Division, one of the lead researchers, said that the discovery had surprised many scientists working in the area. He began the research while studying at the University of Wuerzburg, Germany. Dr. Herold stated, "For more than a decade, we have known that cell survival proteins such as Bcl-2 are important for immune cell development and function." He said that many researchers, however, ignored A1 because it had proved more difficult to work with than other, closely related proteins. Dr. Herold commented, "Our work has shown that A1 has many important roles in the immune system." Joint lead researcher was Dr. Andreas Villunger, of Innsbruck Medical University, Austria.

     Visiting research student Ms. Eleanora Ottina, of the Molecular Cell Biology and Oncology postgraduate program at the Innsbruck Medical University, stated that the researchers are working to determine whether the presence of A1 cells is necessary for the development of leukemia, autoimmunity, or allergy. She said if that is the case, depleting or functionally blocking A1 could be a new treatment for these diseases.