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This year's prestigious award in medical science has been granted for revolutionary discoveries that illuminate how the immune system targets harmful infections while sparing the body's own cells.

A trio of renowned scientists—from Japan Shimon Sakaguchi and US experts Mary Brunkow and Dr. Ramsdell—received this accolade.

The research uncovered unique "security guards" within the immune system that eliminate malfunctioning defense cells capable of harming the organism.

The findings are now enabling new therapies for autoimmune diseases and cancer.

The winners will divide a prize fund valued at 11m SEK.

Decisive Discoveries

"The work has been essential for understanding how the immune system functions and why we don't all suffer from serious autoimmune diseases," stated the head of the Nobel Committee.

The trio's research explain a core mystery: How does the defense system defend us from countless infections while leaving our own tissues unharmed?

The immune system employs immune cells that search for indicators of infection, including pathogens and germs it has never encountered.

Such cells utilize detectors—known as receptors—that are generated randomly in a vast number of combinations.

This provides the immune system the capacity to fight a wide array of invaders, but the randomness of the process unavoidably creates immune cells that can attack the host.

Protectors of the Immune System

Researchers earlier understood that some of these problematic defense cells were destroyed in the immune organ—where immune cells develop.

The latest award recognizes the identification of T-reg cells—known as the immune system's "security guards"—which travel through the system to disarm any immune cells that assault the body's own tissues.

We know that this mechanism fails in self-attack conditions such as type-1 diabetes, MS, and rheumatoid arthritis.

A Nobel panel stated, "The discoveries have established a novel area of research and accelerated the creation of new treatments, for example for cancer and autoimmune diseases."

In cancer, T-regs prevent the system from attacking the tumor, so research are aimed at lowering their quantity.

In autoimmune diseases, experiments are exploring 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 Experiments

Professor Shimon Sakaguchi, from Osaka University, performed experiments on mice that had their immune gland removed, leading to autoimmune disease.

He demonstrated that injecting immune cells from healthy mice could stop the disease—implying there was a system for blocking defenders from harming the host.

Dr. Brunkow, from the Institute for Systems Biology in Seattle, and Fred Ramsdell, now at a biotech firm in San Francisco, were studying an genetic immune disorder in mice and humans that resulted in the identification of a gene vital for the way regulatory T-cells function.

"Their pioneering work has revealed how the immune system is controlled by regulatory T cells, preventing it from mistakenly attacking the healthy cells," said a prominent physiology specialist.

"The work is a remarkable example of how basic biological study can have far-reaching implications for public health."