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The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded for transformative findings that clarify how the body's defense network targets dangerous infections while protecting the healthy tissues.

Three renowned researchers—Japan's Prof. Sakaguchi and American experts Mary Brunkow and Fred Ramsdell—received this honor.

Their research uncovered specialized "security guards" within the immune system that remove rogue immune cells that could harming the body.

The discoveries are now paving the way for innovative treatments for autoimmune diseases and cancer.

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

Decisive Findings

"Their research has been essential for understanding how the body's defenses operates and why we do not all develop serious autoimmune diseases," commented the chair of the award panel.

The trio's research explain a core mystery: In what way does the immune system defend us from countless invaders while keeping our own tissues intact?

The body's protection system uses immune cells that search for indicators of disease, even viruses and bacteria it has never encountered.

These cells employ detectors—called recognition units—that are produced randomly in a vast number of variations.

That gives the immune system the ability to fight a broad range of threats, but the unpredictability of the mechanism inevitably produces immune cells that can attack the host.

Security Guards of the Immune System

Scientists earlier knew that some of these harmful white blood cells were eliminated in the thymus—the site where white blood cells develop.

The latest award recognizes the discovery of T-reg cells—described as the body's "peacekeepers"—which patrol the body to disarm any immune cells that attack the healthy cells.

It is known that this process fails in autoimmune diseases such as type-1 diabetes, MS, and rheumatoid arthritis.

The Nobel panel added, "The findings have laid the foundation for a novel area of research and spurred the development of new treatments, for instance for cancer and autoimmune diseases."

In cancer, T-regs prevent the body from fighting the growth, so studies are aimed at lowering their numbers.

In self-attack disorders, experiments are testing boosting T-reg cells so the body is not being harmed. A similar method could also be useful in reducing the chances of transplanted organ failure.

Innovative Studies

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

The researcher showed that injecting defense cells from healthy animals could prevent the disease—suggesting there was a system for blocking defenders from harming the body.

Mary Brunkow, affiliated with the Institute for Systems Biology in Seattle, and Fred Ramsdell, now at Sonoma Biotherapeutics in a California city, were investigating an genetic autoimmune disease in mice and humans that led to the discovery of a genetic factor critical for the way regulatory T-cells operate.

"The groundbreaking work has revealed how the body's defenses is kept in check by T-reg cells, stopping it from accidentally attacking the body's own tissues," said a prominent biological science specialist.

"The work is a remarkable example of how fundamental biological research can have far-reaching implications for human health."