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This year's Nobel Prize in medical science has been awarded for transformative findings that clarify how the immune system attacks dangerous pathogens while sparing the body's own cells.

Three renowned scientists—Japan's Prof. Sakaguchi and American scientists Mary Brunkow and Dr. Ramsdell—share this honor.

Their work uncovered specialized "sentinels" within the defense system that remove malfunctioning defense cells capable of harming the body.

The findings are now paving the way for innovative therapies for autoimmune diseases and malignancies.

These winners will share a monetary award valued at 11m SEK.

Crucial Findings

"Their research has been decisive for understanding how the body's defenses operates and why we do not all develop serious autoimmune diseases," commented the head of the Nobel Committee.

This team's research explain a fundamental question: How does the defense system defend us from countless infections while keeping our own tissues unharmed?

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

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

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

Security Guards of the Immune System

Researchers earlier understood that some of these problematic white blood cells were eliminated in the thymus—the site where white blood cells mature.

This year's award recognizes the identification of regulatory T-cells—described as the immune system's "peacekeepers"—which patrol the body to neutralize other defenders that assault the healthy cells.

We know that this mechanism malfunctions in self-attack conditions such as juvenile diabetes, multiple sclerosis, and RA.

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

Regarding cancer, regulatory T-cells prevent the system from attacking the growth, so studies are focused on lowering their quantity.

In autoimmune diseases, trials are exploring boosting regulatory T-cells so the body is not being harmed. A similar method could also be useful in reducing the chances of organ transplant failure.

Pioneering Studies

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

He showed that introducing defense cells from healthy animals could prevent the disease—implying there was a mechanism for preventing defenders from harming the host.

Mary Brunkow, from the a research center in a US city, and Fred Ramsdell, currently at Sonoma Biotherapeutics in a California city, were studying an genetic immune disorder in rodents and people that led to the discovery of a gene vital for the way T-regs operate.

"The pioneering work has uncovered how the immune system is controlled by T-reg cells, stopping it from accidentally attacking the healthy cells," said a prominent biological science expert.

"This work is a remarkable illustration of how fundamental physiological study can have broad implications for public health."