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The prestigious award in Physiology or Medicine has been awarded for transformative discoveries that clarify how the body's defense network targets dangerous pathogens while protecting the body's own cells.

Three esteemed scientists—from Japan Prof. Sakaguchi and US experts Mary Brunkow and Dr. Ramsdell—share this honor.

The work uncovered specialized "security guards" within the defense system that remove malfunctioning immune cells that could attacking the organism.

The discoveries are now paving the way for innovative treatments for immune disorders and malignancies.

These winners will divide a monetary award worth 11 million Swedish kronor.

Decisive Discoveries

"Their research has been decisive for comprehending how the immune system functions and the reason we don't all suffer from severe autoimmune diseases," commented the chair of the award panel.

The team's studies address a fundamental mystery: In what way does the defense system defend us from numerous invaders while leaving our own tissues unharmed?

The immune system uses white blood cells that scan for signs of infection, even pathogens and germs it has never encountered.

These defenders utilize detectors—called receptors—that are produced randomly in countless variations.

This provides the immune system the ability to fight a wide array of invaders, but the unpredictability of the process inevitably creates immune cells that can target the body.

Protectors of the Immune System

Researchers previously knew that some of these problematic defense cells were destroyed in the immune organ—where immune cells mature.

This year's award recognizes the discovery of T-reg cells—described as the immune system's "peacekeepers"—which travel through the system to disarm any defenders that assault the healthy cells.

It is known that this mechanism fails in self-attack conditions such as juvenile diabetes, MS, and RA.

A Nobel panel added, "The discoveries have laid the foundation for a new field of research and spurred the creation of new therapies, for example for cancer and immune disorders."

In malignancies, T-regs block the body from fighting the growth, so research are focused on reducing their numbers.

For self-attack disorders, trials are exploring increasing T-reg cells so the body is no longer under attack. A comparable approach could also be effective in minimizing the risks of organ transplant rejection.

Innovative Experiments

Prof Sakaguchi, of Osaka University, performed tests on rodents that had their immune gland extracted, causing self-attack conditions.

He demonstrated that injecting immune cells from other mice could stop the disease—implying there was a mechanism for blocking defenders from attacking the body.

Dr. Brunkow, affiliated with the a research center in a US city, and Fred Ramsdell, now at Sonoma Biotherapeutics in San Francisco, were studying an genetic autoimmune disease in mice and people that led to the identification of a genetic factor vital for the way regulatory T-cells function.

"The groundbreaking work has uncovered how the immune system is controlled by T-reg cells, preventing it from mistakenly attacking the healthy cells," said a leading biological science expert.

"This research is a striking example of how fundamental biological study can have broad implications for public health."