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This year's prestigious award in Physiology or Medicine has been awarded for revolutionary findings that clarify how the body's defense network attacks harmful infections while sparing the body's own cells.

A trio of renowned scientists—Japan's Shimon Sakaguchi and US experts Dr. Brunkow and Fred Ramsdell—received this honor.

Their research uncovered specialized "security guards" within the immune system that remove rogue defense cells capable of harming the organism.

These discoveries are now enabling innovative treatments for autoimmune diseases and malignancies.

The winners will share a prize fund worth 11m Swedish kronor.

Decisive Discoveries

"Their work has been essential for comprehending how the immune system functions and why we don't all suffer from serious autoimmune diseases," commented the chair of the award panel.

This team's research explain a fundamental mystery: In what way does the defense system protect us from numerous invaders while keeping our own tissues unharmed?

The immune system employs immune cells that search for indicators of disease, including viruses and germs it has not met before.

These cells employ detectors—called receptors—that are generated randomly in countless combinations.

This gives the defense network the capacity to fight a broad range of invaders, but the randomness of the process unavoidably creates immune cells that can target the body.

Security Guards of the Body

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

This year's award honors the discovery of regulatory T-cells—known as the body's "security guards"—which patrol the body to disarm other immune cells that assault the body's own tissues.

It is known that this process fails in autoimmune diseases such as type-1 diabetes, multiple sclerosis, and RA.

A Nobel panel added, "These findings have established a new field of investigation and accelerated the development of innovative therapies, for example for tumors and autoimmune diseases."

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

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

Innovative Experiments

Prof Shimon Sakaguchi, of Osaka University, performed experiments on rodents that had their immune gland extracted, leading to autoimmune disease.

He showed that injecting defense cells from healthy mice could prevent the disease—implying there was a mechanism for preventing defenders from attacking the host.

Mary Brunkow, from the a research center in Seattle, and Fred Ramsdell, currently at Sonoma Biotherapeutics in San Francisco, were investigating an genetic immune disorder in mice and people that resulted in the identification of a genetic factor vital for how regulatory T-cells function.

"The groundbreaking research has revealed how the body's defenses is kept in check by T-reg cells, preventing it from mistakenly targeting the healthy cells," commented a leading physiology expert.

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