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The Nobel Prize in medical science was awarded for revolutionary findings that clarify how the body's defense network attacks harmful infections while sparing the body's own cells.

Three renowned researchers—from Japan Prof. Sakaguchi and US scientists Mary Brunkow and Fred Ramsdell—share this accolade.

The work identified unique "security guards" within the defense system that eliminate malfunctioning defense cells capable of attacking the body.

The findings are now enabling innovative treatments for autoimmune diseases and cancer.

The winners will divide a monetary award worth 11m Swedish kronor.

Decisive Discoveries

"Their work has been essential for comprehending how the immune system operates and why we do not all suffer from severe self-attack conditions," stated the chair of the Nobel Committee.

This team's studies address a core mystery: In what way does the immune system protect us from countless invaders while leaving our healthy cells unharmed?

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

These defenders employ detectors—known as recognition units—that are generated randomly in a vast number of combinations.

This provides the immune system the ability to combat a wide array of threats, but the unpredictability of the mechanism inevitably creates immune cells that may target the body.

Protectors of the Body

Researchers earlier understood that some of these problematic white blood cells were destroyed in the thymus—the site where white blood cells mature.

This year's award recognizes the identification of regulatory T-cells—described as the body's "security guards"—which patrol the body to neutralize any defenders that assault the body's own tissues.

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

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

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

For self-attack disorders, experiments are exploring increasing regulatory T-cells so the organism is not being harmed. A comparable method could also be effective in reducing the risks of transplanted organ failure.

Innovative Experiments

Prof Shimon Sakaguchi, from a Japanese institution, performed tests on rodents that had their immune gland removed, causing autoimmune disease.

He showed that introducing defense cells from other mice could prevent the illness—suggesting there was a mechanism for preventing immune cells from attacking the host.

Dr. Brunkow, from the a research center in a US city, and Fred Ramsdell, now at Sonoma Biotherapeutics in San Francisco, were studying an genetic immune disorder in mice and humans that resulted in the discovery of a genetic factor critical for how T-regs function.

"The groundbreaking research has uncovered how the body's defenses is controlled by regulatory T cells, stopping it from accidentally targeting the healthy cells," commented a leading physiology expert.

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