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

Three renowned researchers—from Japan Prof. Sakaguchi and American experts Dr. Brunkow and Dr. Ramsdell—received this honor.

The work identified specialized "security guards" within the immune system that remove malfunctioning immune cells capable of harming the organism.

The discoveries are now paving the way for new therapies for immune disorders and cancer.

The laureates will share a prize fund worth 11 million SEK.

Crucial Discoveries

"Their work has been decisive for comprehending how the immune system functions and why we don't all suffer from serious autoimmune diseases," stated the chair of the Nobel Committee.

The trio's studies address a fundamental question: In what way does the immune system protect us from numerous infections while leaving our own tissues unharmed?

Our body's protection system uses immune cells that scan for indicators of infection, including viruses and bacteria it has not met before.

Such cells utilize detectors—called recognition units—that are generated by chance in countless variations.

That gives the defense network the ability to combat a broad range of threats, but the unpredictability of the mechanism inevitably produces immune cells that may target the body.

Protectors of the Immune System

Researchers previously understood that some of these harmful defense cells were eliminated in the thymus—where white blood cells mature.

The latest award honors the identification of regulatory T-cells—known as the immune system's "peacekeepers"—which patrol the system to neutralize any immune cells that assault the healthy cells.

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

A prize committee added, "These findings have established a new field of investigation and spurred the creation of new treatments, for instance for cancer and autoimmune diseases."

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

In autoimmune diseases, experiments are exploring increasing regulatory T-cells so the organism is not under attack. A comparable method could also be useful in reducing the risks of organ transplant failure.

Pioneering Studies

Professor Shimon Sakaguchi, of Osaka University, performed tests on mice that had their thymus removed, leading to self-attack conditions.

He showed that injecting defense cells from other mice could prevent the disease—suggesting there was a system for preventing immune cells from attacking the host.

Dr. Brunkow, from the Institute for Systems Biology in Seattle, and Dr. Ramsdell, now at a biotech firm in a California city, were investigating an genetic autoimmune disease in rodents and people that led to the identification of a gene critical for the way regulatory T-cells operate.

"Their groundbreaking work has revealed how the immune system is controlled by T-reg cells, stopping it from accidentally targeting the healthy cells," commented a prominent biological science expert.

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