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The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was granted for revolutionary findings that clarify how the body's defense network attacks harmful pathogens while protecting the body's own cells.

Three esteemed scientists—Japan's Prof. Sakaguchi and US experts Dr. Brunkow and Dr. Ramsdell—share this accolade.

The research uncovered specialized "sentinels" within the defense system that eliminate rogue immune cells capable of harming the organism.

The findings are now enabling innovative therapies for autoimmune diseases and malignancies.

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

Decisive Findings

"Their research has been decisive for understanding how the immune system functions and the reason we do not all develop serious autoimmune diseases," stated the head of the award panel.

The trio's studies address a fundamental mystery: How does the immune system defend us from numerous invaders while keeping our own tissues unharmed?

Our body's protection system employs immune cells that search for indicators of infection, even pathogens and bacteria it has never encountered.

Such defenders employ sensors—known as receptors—that are produced randomly in countless variations.

This provides the immune system the ability to combat a broad range of threats, but the unpredictability of the process unavoidably produces immune cells that can attack the host.

Security Guards of the Immune System

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

This year's Nobel Prize recognizes the identification of T-reg cells—known as the body's "peacekeepers"—which travel through the system to neutralize other defenders that attack the body's own tissues.

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

The prize committee added, "The findings have laid the foundation for a novel area of research and accelerated the creation of new therapies, for instance for cancer and autoimmune diseases."

Regarding malignancies, T-regs block the system from fighting the tumor, so research are aimed at lowering their numbers.

In autoimmune diseases, trials are testing increasing T-reg cells so the organism is no longer under attack. A comparable approach could also be useful in reducing the risks of organ transplant rejection.

Pioneering Experiments

Professor Shimon Sakaguchi, of a Japanese institution, performed tests on rodents that had their immune gland extracted, leading to self-attack conditions.

The researcher showed that injecting defense cells from other mice could prevent the disease—suggesting there was a system for preventing defenders from harming the host.

Mary Brunkow, from the a research center in a US city, and Fred Ramsdell, now at a biotech firm in a California city, were investigating an inherited autoimmune disease in rodents and humans that led to the identification of a genetic factor critical for how T-regs function.

"The pioneering work has revealed how the body's defenses is kept in check by T-reg cells, stopping it from mistakenly targeting the body's own tissues," said a prominent physiology specialist.

"This research is a remarkable example of how basic biological research can have far-reaching implications for human health."