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The Nobel Prize in medical science was granted for revolutionary discoveries that clarify how the immune system targets harmful infections while sparing the body's own cells.

Three esteemed scientists—Japan's Prof. Sakaguchi and US experts Dr. Brunkow and Fred Ramsdell—share this honor.

The work uncovered specialized "sentinels" within the defense system that eliminate rogue immune cells that could attacking the organism.

These findings are now paving the way for new therapies for autoimmune diseases and cancer.

These winners will divide a monetary award valued at 11m Swedish kronor.

Decisive Findings

"Their research has been essential for comprehending how the body's defenses operates and the reason we don't all develop serious self-attack conditions," stated the head of the Nobel Committee.

The team's studies explain a fundamental mystery: In what way does the immune system protect us from numerous infections while leaving our healthy cells intact?

Our immune system uses white blood cells that search for indicators of disease, including viruses and germs it has never encountered.

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

That provides the immune system the ability to fight a wide array of threats, but the randomness of the process inevitably produces immune cells that can attack the host.

Protectors of the Immune System

Scientists previously knew that a portion of these harmful white blood cells were destroyed in the thymus—the site where immune cells develop.

This year's Nobel Prize recognizes the discovery of T-reg cells—described as the body's "peacekeepers"—which patrol the body to neutralize any defenders that attack the healthy cells.

We know that this process malfunctions in self-attack conditions such as type-1 diabetes, multiple sclerosis, and rheumatoid arthritis.

The prize committee added, "The findings have established a novel area of research and accelerated the development of new treatments, for example for cancer and immune disorders."

Regarding cancer, regulatory T-cells block the system from attacking the tumor, so studies are aimed at reducing their quantity.

For autoimmune diseases, trials are exploring increasing T-reg cells so the organism is not being harmed. A similar approach could also be useful in reducing the risks of organ transplant failure.

Pioneering Experiments

Professor Shimon Sakaguchi, of a Japanese institution, performed tests on rodents that had their thymus extracted, causing autoimmune disease.

He showed that injecting defense cells from other mice could stop the disease—suggesting there was a mechanism for blocking immune cells from attacking the host.

Dr. Brunkow, from the Institute for Systems Biology in a US city, and Dr. Ramsdell, now at a biotech firm in a California city, were investigating an inherited autoimmune disease in rodents and people that resulted in the identification of a gene vital for how regulatory T-cells function.

"The pioneering research has uncovered how the immune system is controlled by regulatory T cells, preventing it from accidentally targeting the healthy cells," commented a leading biological science expert.

"This work is a striking example of how basic physiological research can have broad consequences for public health."