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This year's Nobel Prize in medical science has been awarded for revolutionary discoveries that illuminate how the body's defense network targets dangerous pathogens while protecting the healthy tissues.

Three esteemed researchers—from Japan Prof. Sakaguchi and American scientists Dr. Brunkow and Dr. Ramsdell—received this accolade.

The research uncovered specialized "sentinels" within the defense system that eliminate malfunctioning immune cells capable of attacking the body.

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

These laureates will share a monetary award worth 11 million SEK.

Crucial Discoveries

"The research has been essential for understanding how the body's defenses functions and the reason we do not all suffer from severe self-attack conditions," commented the head of the Nobel Committee.

This trio's studies address a core question: How does the immune system defend us from countless invaders while keeping our healthy cells unharmed?

The immune system employs white blood cells that scan for signs of infection, even viruses and germs it has never encountered.

Such defenders utilize detectors—called recognition units—that are generated randomly in countless variations.

This provides the immune system the ability to combat a wide array of invaders, but the unpredictability of the process unavoidably creates immune cells that can target the host.

Security Guards of the Immune System

Scientists earlier knew that a portion of these problematic defense cells were eliminated in the immune organ—where white blood cells mature.

This year's award recognizes the discovery of regulatory T-cells—known as the immune system's "peacekeepers"—which travel through the system to neutralize any immune cells that assault the body's own tissues.

It is known that this mechanism fails in self-attack conditions such as juvenile diabetes, multiple sclerosis, and RA.

The Nobel panel stated, "The findings have laid the foundation for a new field of research and accelerated the creation of innovative treatments, for instance for cancer and autoimmune diseases."

In cancer, regulatory T-cells block the body from fighting the growth, so studies are aimed at reducing their quantity.

For self-attack disorders, trials are testing boosting T-reg cells so the body is not under attack. A similar method could also be useful in minimizing the risks of organ transplant rejection.

Pioneering Studies

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

The researcher showed that injecting immune cells from healthy mice could prevent the disease—suggesting there was a system for blocking defenders from harming the host.

Mary Brunkow, from the Institute for Systems Biology in a US city, and Dr. Ramsdell, now at a biotech firm in San Francisco, were investigating an inherited immune disorder in rodents and humans that resulted in the discovery of a genetic factor critical for the way T-regs operate.

"The pioneering research has uncovered how the immune system is kept in check by regulatory T cells, preventing it from accidentally attacking the body's own tissues," said a prominent physiology expert.

"This research is a remarkable example of how fundamental biological research can have broad implications for human health."