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The prestigious award in Physiology or Medicine has been granted for transformative findings that illuminate how the body's defense network targets harmful pathogens while sparing the healthy tissues.

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

The research identified specialized "security guards" within the immune system that remove rogue immune cells that could attacking the organism.

These discoveries are now enabling innovative treatments for immune disorders and malignancies.

The laureates will share a monetary award worth 11m Swedish kronor.

Crucial Discoveries

"The work has been decisive for understanding how the body's defenses functions and the reason we don't all suffer from serious autoimmune diseases," stated the head of the award panel.

This trio's research address a core mystery: In what way does the defense system defend us from countless infections while keeping our healthy cells intact?

Our immune system uses white blood cells that scan for indicators of disease, even viruses and germs it has not met before.

These cells utilize sensors—known as recognition units—that are generated by chance in a vast number of variations.

That gives the immune system the capacity to fight a wide array of invaders, but the unpredictability of the process unavoidably creates immune cells that may attack the host.

Protectors of the Body

Researchers previously understood that some of these problematic 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 immune system's "peacekeepers"—which patrol the system to disarm other immune cells that attack the healthy cells.

It is known that this process fails in autoimmune diseases such as juvenile diabetes, MS, and rheumatoid arthritis.

The prize committee stated, "These findings have established a new field of investigation and accelerated the development of innovative treatments, for instance for tumors and immune disorders."

In cancer, T-regs block the system from attacking the tumor, so studies are focused on reducing their quantity.

For autoimmune diseases, experiments are exploring increasing regulatory T-cells so the organism is no longer under attack. A similar approach could also be useful in reducing the chances of transplanted organ failure.

Pioneering Studies

Professor Sakaguchi, from Osaka University, performed experiments on mice that had their immune gland removed, causing autoimmune disease.

He showed that introducing defense cells from healthy animals could prevent the disease—suggesting there was a system for preventing defenders from attacking the host.

Mary Brunkow, from the a research center in Seattle, and Dr. Ramsdell, now at a biotech firm in a California city, were studying an genetic immune disorder in rodents and humans that resulted in the discovery of a gene critical for the way regulatory T-cells operate.

"Their groundbreaking work has revealed how the immune system is controlled by regulatory T cells, preventing it from mistakenly attacking the body's own tissues," said a leading biological science expert.

"The research is a remarkable example of how basic physiological research can have broad implications for human health."