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This year's prestigious award in medical science has been granted for transformative findings that illuminate how the immune system targets dangerous pathogens while sparing the body's own cells.

A trio of esteemed scientists—from Japan Prof. Sakaguchi and American experts Mary Brunkow and Dr. Ramsdell—share this honor.

The research identified unique "sentinels" within the immune system that eliminate malfunctioning defense cells that could harming the organism.

The discoveries are now enabling new therapies for immune disorders and malignancies.

The winners will share a monetary award valued at 11 million SEK.

Decisive Discoveries

"Their research has been essential for understanding how the immune system functions and why we don't all develop serious autoimmune diseases," stated the head of the Nobel Committee.

The trio's research explain a fundamental question: How does the immune system defend us from numerous infections while leaving our own tissues intact?

The immune system employs white blood cells that search for signs of disease, even pathogens and bacteria it has not met before.

These cells employ sensors—called receptors—that are generated randomly in a vast number of combinations.

That provides the defense network the ability to combat a broad range of invaders, but the randomness of the mechanism unavoidably creates white blood cells that can attack the host.

Protectors of the Body

Researchers earlier knew that some of these harmful white blood cells were destroyed in the immune organ—the site where immune cells develop.

This year's Nobel Prize honors the discovery of T-reg cells—described as the immune system's "security guards"—which patrol the body to neutralize any defenders that attack the healthy cells.

We know that this mechanism malfunctions in autoimmune diseases such as juvenile diabetes, MS, and rheumatoid arthritis.

A Nobel panel stated, "The findings have established a novel area of investigation and accelerated the development of innovative therapies, for example for cancer and autoimmune diseases."

In cancer, T-regs prevent the body from attacking the growth, so research are focused on lowering their quantity.

For autoimmune diseases, trials are testing boosting T-reg cells so the body is not under attack. A comparable approach could also be effective in reducing the chances of organ transplant failure.

Innovative Studies

Prof Shimon Sakaguchi, of a Japanese institution, performed tests on mice that had their immune gland removed, causing autoimmune disease.

He showed that introducing immune cells from other mice could stop the disease—suggesting there was a mechanism for preventing immune cells from harming the body.

Dr. Brunkow, from the Institute for Systems Biology in Seattle, and Fred Ramsdell, currently at a biotech firm in a California city, were investigating an inherited autoimmune disease in mice and people that resulted in the discovery of a gene critical for the way T-regs function.

"The pioneering work has revealed how the body's defenses is kept in check by regulatory T cells, stopping it from mistakenly attacking the healthy cells," commented a prominent biological science expert.

"The research is a striking illustration of how fundamental physiological study can have broad consequences for public health."