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The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded for revolutionary discoveries that illuminate how the immune system targets dangerous infections while protecting the healthy tissues.

Three renowned scientists—from Japan Shimon Sakaguchi and American scientists Dr. Brunkow and Dr. Ramsdell—share this honor.

Their research identified unique "security guards" within the defense system that eliminate malfunctioning defense cells capable of attacking the organism.

These discoveries are now enabling innovative treatments for immune disorders and cancer.

The laureates will divide a prize fund valued at 11 million SEK.

Crucial Findings

"The work has been decisive for comprehending how the immune system functions and why we do not all develop severe autoimmune diseases," commented the head of the award panel.

The team's research explain a core question: In what way does the immune system defend us from numerous infections while leaving our healthy cells intact?

The immune system uses immune cells that scan for signs of disease, including pathogens and bacteria it has not met before.

These cells utilize detectors—called receptors—that are produced by chance in countless combinations.

That provides the defense network the ability to fight a broad range of threats, but the unpredictability of the mechanism unavoidably produces immune cells that may attack the body.

Protectors of the Body

Scientists previously knew that some of these harmful white blood cells were destroyed in the thymus—where white blood cells develop.

This year's Nobel Prize recognizes the discovery of regulatory T-cells—described as the body's "peacekeepers"—which patrol the system to disarm other defenders that assault the healthy cells.

It is known that this mechanism malfunctions in autoimmune diseases such as type-1 diabetes, multiple sclerosis, and rheumatoid arthritis.

The prize committee added, "The discoveries have established a new field of investigation and accelerated the development of innovative treatments, for instance for tumors and autoimmune diseases."

Regarding malignancies, regulatory T-cells block the system from attacking the tumor, so studies are aimed at lowering their quantity.

For self-attack disorders, trials are exploring increasing T-reg cells so the organism is no longer under attack. A similar approach could also be effective in minimizing the chances of transplanted organ failure.

Innovative Studies

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

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

Mary Brunkow, affiliated with the Institute for Systems Biology in Seattle, and Fred Ramsdell, currently at Sonoma Biotherapeutics in a California city, were investigating an genetic autoimmune disease in rodents and humans that resulted in the discovery of a genetic factor critical for how regulatory T-cells function.

"Their groundbreaking research has uncovered how the immune system is kept in check by T-reg cells, stopping it from accidentally targeting the body's own tissues," said a prominent physiology specialist.

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