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The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine has been awarded for revolutionary findings that clarify how the immune system targets dangerous pathogens while sparing the body's own cells.

A trio of renowned researchers—Japan's Shimon Sakaguchi and US scientists Dr. Brunkow and Fred Ramsdell—share this honor.

Their work uncovered specialized "sentinels" within the defense system that remove malfunctioning immune cells that could attacking the organism.

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

These laureates will share a monetary award worth 11 million SEK.

Decisive Discoveries

"Their work has been decisive for understanding how the immune system operates and the reason we do not all develop serious autoimmune diseases," commented the chair of the award panel.

The trio's studies explain a fundamental mystery: In what way does the immune system defend us from numerous invaders while keeping our healthy cells intact?

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

These cells utilize sensors—known as recognition units—that are generated by chance in countless variations.

That gives the immune system the capacity to combat a wide array of threats, but the unpredictability of the mechanism inevitably produces white blood cells that may target the host.

Protectors of the Immune System

Scientists earlier understood that a portion of these problematic white blood cells were destroyed in the thymus—the site where immune cells mature.

The latest award honors the discovery of T-reg cells—known as the immune system's "peacekeepers"—which travel through the body to neutralize other immune cells that assault the healthy cells.

We know that this process fails in self-attack conditions such as type-1 diabetes, MS, and rheumatoid arthritis.

The Nobel panel added, "These findings have laid the foundation for a new field of investigation and spurred the creation of new therapies, for instance for tumors and autoimmune diseases."

In malignancies, T-regs block the system from attacking the tumor, so research are aimed at lowering their quantity.

For self-attack disorders, experiments are exploring increasing T-reg cells so the body is not being harmed. A comparable approach could also be useful in reducing the risks of organ transplant rejection.

Pioneering Studies

Prof Shimon Sakaguchi, of Osaka University, performed experiments on rodents that had their immune gland removed, leading to self-attack conditions.

The researcher showed that injecting defense cells from healthy mice could prevent the disease—implying there was a mechanism for blocking immune cells from attacking the host.

Mary Brunkow, from the a research center in Seattle, and Fred Ramsdell, now at a biotech firm in San Francisco, were investigating an genetic immune disorder in rodents and humans that resulted in the discovery of a genetic factor critical for how T-regs function.

"Their pioneering research has revealed how the body's defenses is kept in check by regulatory T cells, preventing it from accidentally attacking the healthy cells," said a prominent physiology expert.

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