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This year's prestigious award in Physiology or Medicine has been awarded for transformative findings that illuminate how the immune system attacks dangerous pathogens while protecting the body's own cells.

A trio of renowned scientists—Japan's Shimon Sakaguchi and US scientists Mary Brunkow and Fred Ramsdell—share this accolade.

The research identified unique "security guards" within the defense system that remove rogue immune cells that could harming the body.

These discoveries are now paving the way for innovative treatments for immune disorders and malignancies.

These laureates will divide a monetary award valued at 11m SEK.

Decisive Findings

"Their work has been essential for understanding how the body's defenses functions and the reason we don't all develop serious autoimmune diseases," stated the chair of the Nobel Committee.

This team's research explain a fundamental question: In what way does the defense system protect us from countless invaders while keeping our own tissues intact?

Our immune system uses white blood cells that scan for signs of disease, even pathogens and germs it has not met before.

These defenders employ sensors—called receptors—that are generated by chance in a vast number of combinations.

That gives the immune system the capacity to combat a broad range of threats, but the randomness of the process inevitably produces immune cells that may target the host.

Security Guards of the Immune System

Scientists earlier understood that some of these problematic white blood cells were destroyed in the immune organ—where immune cells develop.

The latest Nobel Prize honors the identification of regulatory T-cells—described as the immune system's "security guards"—which travel through the system to neutralize any immune cells that attack the healthy cells.

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

A prize committee stated, "These discoveries have established a new field of investigation and accelerated the creation of new treatments, for example for cancer and immune disorders."

Regarding malignancies, T-regs prevent the system from fighting the growth, so research are aimed at reducing their quantity.

In autoimmune diseases, trials are testing boosting regulatory T-cells so the organism is no longer being harmed. A comparable approach could also be useful in reducing the chances of transplanted organ rejection.

Innovative Experiments

Professor Sakaguchi, from a Japanese institution, performed experiments on mice that had their immune gland extracted, causing autoimmune disease.

The researcher showed that introducing immune cells from other animals could stop the disease—implying there was a system for preventing defenders from attacking the body.

Mary Brunkow, affiliated with the Institute for Systems Biology in Seattle, and Fred Ramsdell, currently at a biotech firm in San Francisco, were investigating an genetic autoimmune disease in mice and humans that led to the identification of a genetic factor critical for the way regulatory T-cells function.

"Their pioneering research has revealed how the body's defenses is kept in check by regulatory T cells, preventing it from mistakenly attacking the body's own tissues," said a prominent biological science expert.

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