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This year's prestigious award in medical science has been awarded for transformative discoveries that illuminate how the immune system targets harmful infections while protecting the body's own cells.

A trio of esteemed scientists—Japan's Shimon Sakaguchi and American experts Mary Brunkow and Fred Ramsdell—share this honor.

Their research uncovered specialized "sentinels" within the defense system that eliminate rogue immune cells that could harming the body.

These findings are now enabling innovative treatments for autoimmune diseases and malignancies.

The winners will divide a prize fund worth 11m Swedish kronor.

Crucial Findings

"The research has been decisive for comprehending how the body's defenses operates and the reason we do not all develop serious self-attack conditions," commented the chair of the Nobel Committee.

This trio's studies address a core mystery: In what way does the immune system defend us from numerous invaders while keeping our healthy cells unharmed?

Our body's protection system employs immune cells that scan for signs of infection, even pathogens and germs it has not met before.

These defenders employ detectors—called receptors—that are produced by chance in a vast number of combinations.

That gives the defense network the ability to combat a wide array of threats, but the randomness of the mechanism inevitably creates white blood cells that can attack the host.

Security Guards of the Immune System

Researchers previously knew that a portion of these harmful white blood cells were destroyed in the immune organ—the site where white blood cells develop.

This year's Nobel Prize honors the discovery of T-reg cells—known as the body's "security guards"—which patrol the body to disarm other immune cells that assault the healthy cells.

We know that this process malfunctions in autoimmune diseases such as juvenile diabetes, MS, and RA.

The Nobel panel added, "The discoveries have laid the foundation for a novel area of research and spurred the creation of innovative therapies, for instance for tumors and autoimmune diseases."

In cancer, T-regs prevent the body from fighting the tumor, so studies are focused on lowering their numbers.

In autoimmune diseases, experiments are testing boosting regulatory T-cells so the organism is no longer under attack. A similar method could also be effective in reducing the risks of transplanted organ rejection.

Pioneering Studies

Professor Sakaguchi, from Osaka University, performed tests on mice that had their thymus extracted, causing autoimmune disease.

The researcher demonstrated that introducing immune cells from healthy mice could stop the disease—suggesting there was a mechanism for blocking defenders from attacking the body.

Dr. Brunkow, affiliated with the Institute for Systems Biology in Seattle, and Fred Ramsdell, now at Sonoma Biotherapeutics in San Francisco, were investigating an inherited autoimmune disease in rodents and people that resulted in the discovery of a genetic factor vital for the way T-regs function.

"The pioneering work has revealed how the immune system is kept in check by regulatory T cells, preventing it from mistakenly attacking the healthy cells," said a leading biological science expert.

"The research is a striking illustration of how fundamental biological study can have far-reaching consequences for public health."