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

A trio of esteemed researchers—Japan's Shimon Sakaguchi and US scientists Mary Brunkow and Dr. Ramsdell—received this accolade.

Their research identified unique "sentinels" within the immune system that eliminate rogue immune cells that could attacking the organism.

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

The laureates will share a prize fund worth 11 million SEK.

Crucial Findings

"Their work has been essential for understanding how the body's defenses functions and why we do not all develop serious autoimmune diseases," stated the head of the Nobel Committee.

This team's studies address a fundamental mystery: How does the defense system protect us from numerous invaders while leaving our own tissues intact?

Our body's protection system employs white blood cells that search for signs of disease, even viruses and bacteria it has never encountered.

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

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

Protectors of the Immune System

Scientists previously understood that a portion of these problematic white blood cells were eliminated in the immune organ—where immune cells mature.

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

It is known that this mechanism fails in self-attack conditions such as juvenile diabetes, MS, and RA.

A prize committee added, "These findings have laid the foundation for a novel area of investigation and spurred the development of innovative therapies, for instance for cancer and immune disorders."

In cancer, regulatory T-cells prevent the body from fighting the growth, so studies are focused on reducing their quantity.

For autoimmune diseases, trials are testing increasing T-reg cells so the organism is no longer under attack. A similar method could also be useful in reducing the risks of transplanted organ rejection.

Pioneering Studies

Prof Shimon Sakaguchi, of Osaka University, conducted experiments on rodents that had their immune gland extracted, causing autoimmune disease.

He demonstrated that introducing immune cells from healthy animals could stop the illness—suggesting there was a system for preventing defenders from attacking the body.

Dr. Brunkow, from the a research center in a US city, and Dr. Ramsdell, now at Sonoma Biotherapeutics in a California city, were investigating an genetic autoimmune disease in rodents and people that led to the identification of a gene vital for the way T-regs operate.

"Their groundbreaking research has revealed how the body's defenses is kept in check by T-reg cells, preventing it from accidentally targeting the healthy cells," commented a leading biological science expert.

"The work is a striking example of how fundamental biological research can have broad implications for human health."