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The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was granted for transformative findings that illuminate how the immune system attacks dangerous pathogens while sparing the body's own cells.

Three esteemed researchers—from Japan Shimon Sakaguchi and US scientists Dr. Brunkow and Dr. Ramsdell—share this accolade.

Their work uncovered specialized "security guards" within the immune system that eliminate rogue defense cells that could harming the body.

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

The laureates will share a prize fund valued at 11m SEK.

Crucial Discoveries

"Their research has been decisive for understanding how the body's defenses operates and the reason we do not all develop serious self-attack conditions," stated the chair of the award panel.

The trio's studies explain a core mystery: How does the immune system protect us from numerous infections while keeping our healthy cells unharmed?

The immune system uses immune cells that search for indicators of disease, including pathogens and bacteria it has not met before.

These cells utilize detectors—called recognition units—that are produced by chance in countless variations.

This provides the defense network the ability to combat a broad range of invaders, but the randomness of the mechanism inevitably creates immune cells that can attack the host.

Protectors of the Immune System

Researchers earlier understood that some of these harmful defense cells were destroyed in the thymus—the site where immune cells mature.

The latest Nobel Prize honors the identification of regulatory T-cells—described as the body's "peacekeepers"—which patrol the body to disarm any immune cells that assault the healthy cells.

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

The prize committee added, "The discoveries have established a new field of research and accelerated the creation of innovative treatments, for example for tumors and autoimmune diseases."

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

For self-attack disorders, experiments are testing boosting regulatory T-cells so the body is no longer under attack. A similar method could also be useful in reducing the chances of organ transplant rejection.

Pioneering Experiments

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

The researcher demonstrated that injecting immune cells from healthy mice could prevent the disease—implying there was a system for blocking immune cells from harming the host.

Mary Brunkow, affiliated with the Institute for Systems Biology in Seattle, and Dr. Ramsdell, currently at a biotech firm in a California city, were investigating an inherited autoimmune disease in rodents and people that led to the identification of a genetic factor critical for the way T-regs operate.

"Their groundbreaking research has uncovered how the body's defenses is controlled by regulatory T cells, stopping it from mistakenly targeting the healthy cells," said a prominent physiology specialist.

"The work is a remarkable example of how fundamental biological study can have far-reaching consequences for human health."