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This year's Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine has been granted for revolutionary discoveries that clarify how the body's defense network targets harmful pathogens while sparing the body's own cells.

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

The work uncovered specialized "security guards" within the immune system that remove rogue defense cells capable of attacking the organism.

The findings are now enabling new treatments for immune disorders and malignancies.

These laureates will share a monetary award valued at 11 million Swedish kronor.

Crucial Findings

"Their research has been essential for comprehending how the body's defenses functions and the reason we don't all suffer from severe self-attack conditions," commented the chair of the award panel.

The team's studies address a core mystery: In what way does the defense system protect us from countless invaders while leaving our healthy cells unharmed?

The immune system employs immune cells that scan for indicators of disease, even viruses and germs it has not met before.

Such defenders utilize detectors—known as receptors—that are generated randomly in countless variations.

This gives the immune system the capacity to combat a broad range of invaders, but the unpredictability of the mechanism unavoidably produces white blood cells that can attack the body.

Security Guards of the Immune System

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

The latest award honors the identification of T-reg cells—described as the immune system's "peacekeepers"—which patrol the body to neutralize other immune cells that attack the body's own tissues.

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

The Nobel panel stated, "These discoveries have established a new field of research and accelerated the development of new therapies, for example for tumors and autoimmune diseases."

Regarding cancer, regulatory T-cells prevent the system from attacking the tumor, so research are focused on reducing their numbers.

In self-attack disorders, experiments are testing increasing regulatory T-cells so the organism is not under attack. A similar method could also be useful in reducing the risks of organ transplant rejection.

Innovative Experiments

Professor Sakaguchi, from a Japanese institution, conducted tests on mice that had their immune gland extracted, leading to self-attack conditions.

The researcher showed that injecting immune cells from healthy animals could prevent the illness—suggesting there was a system for blocking defenders from attacking the host.

Dr. Brunkow, affiliated with the Institute for Systems Biology in a US city, and Dr. Ramsdell, now at a biotech firm in a California city, were investigating an genetic autoimmune disease in rodents and people that resulted in the discovery of a gene critical for how regulatory T-cells operate.

"Their groundbreaking research 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 specialist.

"This research is a remarkable example of how fundamental biological study can have broad consequences for human health."