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The prestigious award in Physiology or Medicine has been granted for transformative discoveries that illuminate how the body's defense network attacks dangerous infections while sparing the body's own cells.

Three renowned researchers—Japan's Shimon Sakaguchi and American experts Dr. Brunkow and Dr. Ramsdell—share this honor.

The research uncovered unique "security guards" within the defense system that eliminate rogue defense cells capable of harming the body.

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

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

Crucial Discoveries

"The research has been essential for understanding how the body's defenses functions and why we don't all develop serious autoimmune diseases," stated the chair of the award panel.

This trio's studies explain a fundamental mystery: In what way does the immune system protect us from countless infections while leaving our own tissues intact?

Our body's protection system uses immune cells that search for signs of infection, including pathogens and bacteria it has never encountered.

These defenders utilize detectors—called recognition units—that are produced by chance in a vast number of variations.

That provides the immune system the capacity to combat a wide array of invaders, but the unpredictability of the process inevitably creates white blood cells that can target the body.

Protectors of the Body

Researchers previously knew that a portion of these problematic defense cells were destroyed in the immune organ—the site where white blood cells develop.

This year's award recognizes the identification of regulatory T-cells—known as the immune system's "security guards"—which travel through the system to disarm 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 Nobel panel added, "These findings have established a novel area of investigation and accelerated the development of innovative treatments, for example for cancer and immune disorders."

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

In autoimmune diseases, trials are exploring boosting regulatory T-cells so the body is not under attack. A similar approach could also be effective in reducing the risks of transplanted organ failure.

Pioneering Experiments

Professor Shimon Sakaguchi, of Osaka University, performed tests on rodents that had their thymus extracted, leading to autoimmune disease.

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

Mary Brunkow, from the a research center in a US city, and Fred Ramsdell, now at a biotech firm in San Francisco, were investigating an genetic immune disorder in mice and humans that resulted in the discovery of a gene critical for the way regulatory T-cells operate.

"Their pioneering research has revealed how the body's defenses is controlled by T-reg cells, preventing it from accidentally targeting the healthy cells," commented a leading physiology specialist.

"The work is a striking example of how basic biological study can have broad implications for human health."