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This year's prestigious award in medical science was granted for transformative findings that clarify how the immune system attacks harmful infections while sparing the healthy tissues.

Three esteemed researchers—from Japan Prof. Sakaguchi and American scientists Mary Brunkow and Dr. Ramsdell—share this accolade.

Their work uncovered specialized "security guards" within the defense system that remove rogue defense cells that could attacking the body.

These findings are now paving the way for innovative therapies for immune disorders and malignancies.

These winners will divide a prize fund worth 11m SEK.

Decisive Discoveries

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

The trio's studies address a fundamental mystery: How does the defense system defend us from numerous infections while leaving our healthy cells intact?

Our immune system uses immune cells that scan for signs of infection, including pathogens and bacteria it has never encountered.

Such defenders employ sensors—known as recognition units—that are generated by chance in countless variations.

That gives the immune system the capacity to combat a wide array of threats, but the randomness of the mechanism inevitably produces white blood cells that may target the body.

Protectors of the Immune System

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

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

We know that this process fails in autoimmune diseases such as type-1 diabetes, multiple sclerosis, and RA.

A Nobel panel stated, "The findings have laid the foundation for a novel area of research and accelerated the development of innovative therapies, for instance for cancer and autoimmune diseases."

In malignancies, regulatory T-cells block the body from attacking the tumor, so studies are aimed at reducing their numbers.

For autoimmune diseases, trials are exploring increasing regulatory T-cells so the body is not being harmed. A similar approach could also be useful in minimizing the chances of transplanted organ failure.

Pioneering Studies

Professor Shimon Sakaguchi, from a Japanese institution, performed tests on mice that had their thymus extracted, leading to autoimmune disease.

The researcher showed that injecting immune cells from other mice could stop the disease—implying there was a mechanism for blocking immune cells from harming the body.

Mary Brunkow, from the Institute for Systems Biology in Seattle, and Dr. Ramsdell, currently at Sonoma Biotherapeutics in San Francisco, were investigating an genetic immune disorder in mice and people that resulted in the discovery of a genetic factor vital for how regulatory T-cells function.

"Their pioneering work has revealed how the immune system is controlled by regulatory T cells, stopping it from mistakenly targeting the healthy cells," said a prominent biological science expert.

"This research is a remarkable illustration of how basic biological research can have far-reaching implications for human health."