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This year's prestigious award in Physiology or Medicine has been granted for revolutionary discoveries that illuminate how the immune system targets dangerous pathogens while sparing the body's own cells.

Three renowned researchers—from Japan Prof. Sakaguchi and American experts Mary Brunkow and Fred Ramsdell—share this honor.

The research identified unique "sentinels" within the defense system that eliminate rogue defense cells capable of harming the organism.

These discoveries are now enabling new therapies for autoimmune diseases and cancer.

These laureates will share a prize fund valued at 11 million SEK.

Decisive Discoveries

"The research has been decisive for comprehending how the immune system functions and the reason we do not all develop severe autoimmune diseases," commented the head of the Nobel Committee.

This trio's research address a fundamental question: In what way does the defense system protect us from countless invaders while leaving our own tissues unharmed?

Our immune system employs white blood cells that scan for indicators of infection, even pathogens and bacteria it has never encountered.

Such cells utilize sensors—called recognition units—that are produced by chance in countless variations.

That gives the immune system the ability to fight a wide array of threats, but the unpredictability of the mechanism unavoidably produces white blood cells that may attack the body.

Security Guards of the Immune System

Scientists previously knew that some of these harmful defense cells were destroyed in the thymus—the site where immune cells develop.

The latest award honors the discovery of T-reg cells—known as the body's "security guards"—which travel through the system to neutralize other immune cells that attack the body's own tissues.

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

A Nobel panel added, "The discoveries have established a novel area of investigation and accelerated the creation of innovative treatments, for example for cancer and autoimmune diseases."

In cancer, T-regs prevent the system from attacking the growth, so studies are aimed at lowering their quantity.

For self-attack disorders, trials are testing boosting regulatory T-cells so the body is not being harmed. A comparable approach could also be useful in reducing the chances of transplanted organ failure.

Innovative Experiments

Prof Sakaguchi, of Osaka University, performed experiments on rodents that had their immune gland extracted, causing self-attack conditions.

He showed that introducing immune cells from other mice could stop the illness—suggesting there was a system for blocking immune cells from harming the body.

Dr. Brunkow, from the a research center in a US city, and Fred Ramsdell, currently at a biotech firm in San Francisco, were investigating an genetic immune disorder in rodents and people that resulted in the identification of a genetic factor vital for how regulatory T-cells operate.

"Their pioneering work has revealed how the body's defenses is controlled by regulatory T cells, stopping it from accidentally attacking the healthy cells," said a prominent physiology expert.

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