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The prestigious award in medical science has been awarded for revolutionary findings that illuminate how the body's defense network targets harmful infections while protecting the body's own cells.

Three esteemed researchers—Japan's Prof. Sakaguchi and US scientists Mary Brunkow and Dr. Ramsdell—share this accolade.

The work uncovered specialized "security guards" within the defense system that eliminate rogue immune cells that could harming the organism.

The discoveries are now enabling innovative treatments for autoimmune diseases and cancer.

The laureates will share a prize fund valued at 11m SEK.

Crucial Discoveries

"The work has been decisive for understanding how the body's defenses operates and the reason we don't all develop serious self-attack conditions," commented the chair of the award panel.

This team's studies address a core mystery: How does the immune system protect us from numerous infections while keeping our healthy cells intact?

The body's protection system uses immune cells that search for indicators of disease, including pathogens and germs it has not met before.

These defenders utilize detectors—called receptors—that are generated by chance in a vast number of variations.

This provides the defense network the ability to combat a wide array of threats, but the randomness of the process inevitably produces immune cells that can target the body.

Security Guards of the Immune System

Researchers previously knew that a portion of these harmful defense cells were destroyed in the thymus—where immune cells develop.

The latest Nobel Prize recognizes the discovery of T-reg cells—described as the body's "peacekeepers"—which travel through the body to disarm other defenders that attack the body's own tissues.

It is known that this mechanism malfunctions in autoimmune diseases such as type-1 diabetes, multiple sclerosis, and rheumatoid arthritis.

The prize committee added, "The findings have laid the foundation for a new field of research and accelerated the development of new therapies, for example for tumors and immune disorders."

In cancer, regulatory T-cells block the body from attacking the growth, so research are focused on lowering their quantity.

In autoimmune diseases, trials are testing boosting regulatory T-cells so the organism is no longer under attack. A similar approach could also be useful in minimizing the chances of transplanted organ rejection.

Pioneering Studies

Prof Sakaguchi, from Osaka University, performed tests on rodents that had their immune gland removed, leading to self-attack conditions.

The researcher demonstrated that introducing defense cells from other animals could prevent the illness—implying there was a system for preventing defenders from harming the host.

Mary Brunkow, from the Institute for Systems Biology in Seattle, and Fred Ramsdell, now at Sonoma Biotherapeutics in San Francisco, were investigating an inherited autoimmune disease in mice and people that resulted in the identification of a genetic factor vital for how regulatory T-cells function.

"The pioneering research has uncovered how the body's defenses is controlled by T-reg cells, stopping it from mistakenly attacking the healthy cells," commented a prominent biological science specialist.

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