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The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was granted for revolutionary discoveries that clarify how the immune system attacks dangerous infections while protecting the body's own cells.

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

The research uncovered specialized "security guards" within the defense system that eliminate rogue immune cells that could attacking the body.

The discoveries are now enabling new treatments for autoimmune diseases and malignancies.

The winners will share a monetary award worth 11 million Swedish kronor.

Decisive Findings

"The research has been essential for understanding how the body's defenses operates and why we don't all develop severe autoimmune diseases," stated the head of the award panel.

The trio's research address a fundamental question: How does the defense system defend us from countless invaders while leaving our healthy cells intact?

The body's protection system employs immune cells that scan for signs of infection, even viruses and germs it has never encountered.

Such defenders utilize sensors—called recognition units—that are produced randomly in a vast number of combinations.

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

Security Guards of the Body

Scientists previously understood that some of these problematic defense cells were eliminated in the thymus—the site where white blood cells mature.

This year's award recognizes the discovery of regulatory T-cells—known as the body's "security guards"—which patrol the system to neutralize other immune cells that assault the healthy cells.

We know that this mechanism fails in self-attack conditions such as type-1 diabetes, multiple sclerosis, and RA.

The Nobel panel stated, "These discoveries have laid the foundation for a new field of research and spurred the development of new treatments, for instance for tumors and immune disorders."

In malignancies, T-regs block the body from attacking the growth, so studies are focused on lowering their numbers.

In self-attack disorders, experiments are testing boosting T-reg cells so the body is no longer being harmed. A similar approach could also be useful in reducing the risks of transplanted organ rejection.

Innovative Studies

Professor Shimon Sakaguchi, of a Japanese institution, conducted experiments on rodents that had their immune gland removed, causing self-attack conditions.

The researcher demonstrated that introducing immune cells from healthy animals could prevent the illness—suggesting there was a mechanism for blocking immune cells from harming the host.

Dr. Brunkow, affiliated with the Institute for Systems Biology in Seattle, and Fred Ramsdell, currently at a biotech firm in San Francisco, were studying an inherited immune disorder in mice and humans that led to the identification of a gene critical for how T-regs function.

"Their pioneering research has revealed how the immune system is kept in check by T-reg cells, stopping it from mistakenly targeting the body's own tissues," commented a prominent biological science expert.

"This research is a striking illustration of how basic physiological study can have broad consequences for human health."