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The prestigious award in Physiology or Medicine has been granted for revolutionary discoveries that illuminate how the body's defense network attacks dangerous pathogens while protecting the body's own cells.

A trio of renowned scientists—from Japan Prof. Sakaguchi and US experts Dr. Brunkow and Fred Ramsdell—received this accolade.

Their research identified unique "security guards" within the defense system that eliminate rogue defense cells capable of attacking the organism.

These findings are now enabling innovative therapies for immune disorders and cancer.

The winners will divide a prize fund worth 11m SEK.

Crucial Discoveries

"The research has been decisive for comprehending how the immune system operates and the reason we don't all suffer from serious autoimmune diseases," commented the head of the Nobel Committee.

This trio's research explain a core question: How does the defense system protect us from numerous infections while keeping our healthy cells intact?

Our body's protection system uses immune cells that scan for indicators of disease, even viruses and germs it has not met before.

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

This provides the immune system the capacity to combat a wide array of invaders, but the unpredictability of the process inevitably creates white blood cells that can target the host.

Protectors of the Immune System

Researchers earlier understood that some of these harmful white blood cells were destroyed in the thymus—the site where white blood cells develop.

The latest Nobel Prize recognizes the identification of T-reg cells—described as the immune system's "peacekeepers"—which patrol the system to disarm other defenders that attack the healthy cells.

We know that this process fails in self-attack conditions such as type-1 diabetes, multiple sclerosis, and RA.

The Nobel panel added, "These findings have laid the foundation for a novel area of research and spurred the creation of new treatments, for example for tumors and autoimmune diseases."

In malignancies, T-regs block the body from fighting the growth, so studies are aimed at reducing their numbers.

For autoimmune diseases, experiments are exploring boosting regulatory T-cells so the organism is not being harmed. A similar approach could also be useful in minimizing the risks of transplanted organ failure.

Pioneering Experiments

Professor Sakaguchi, of Osaka University, conducted tests on rodents that had their immune gland removed, causing autoimmune disease.

He showed that injecting defense cells from other mice could prevent the disease—implying there was a system for blocking immune cells from attacking the host.

Dr. Brunkow, from the Institute for Systems Biology in a US city, and Dr. Ramsdell, now at a biotech firm in San Francisco, were studying an genetic immune disorder in mice and humans that resulted in the identification of a genetic factor vital for how T-regs operate.

"Their pioneering work has uncovered how the immune system is kept in check by regulatory T cells, preventing it from accidentally attacking the body's own tissues," said a leading biological science expert.

"This research is a remarkable illustration of how basic physiological study can have far-reaching implications for public health."