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This year's prestigious award in Physiology or Medicine has been awarded for transformative discoveries that clarify how the body's defense network targets harmful pathogens while protecting the healthy tissues.

Three esteemed researchers—Japan's Prof. Sakaguchi and American scientists Mary Brunkow and Fred Ramsdell—received this honor.

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

These discoveries are now paving the way for innovative therapies for immune disorders and malignancies.

The laureates will share a monetary award valued at 11m Swedish kronor.

Decisive Findings

"Their research has been decisive for comprehending how the body's defenses operates and why we do not all suffer from severe self-attack conditions," commented the chair of the Nobel Committee.

This team's studies address a fundamental mystery: How does the immune system defend us from countless invaders while keeping our own tissues intact?

Our immune system uses immune cells that scan for signs of infection, even pathogens and bacteria it has not met before.

These cells employ sensors—known as receptors—that are produced by chance in countless variations.

This provides the immune system the capacity to combat a wide array of threats, but the randomness of the process inevitably creates white blood cells that can attack the body.

Security Guards of the Body

Researchers earlier knew that a portion of these problematic defense cells were eliminated in the thymus—the site where immune cells mature.

This year's award honors the discovery of T-reg cells—described as the immune system's "peacekeepers"—which travel through the system to disarm other defenders that assault the body's own tissues.

We know that this process fails in autoimmune diseases such as type-1 diabetes, MS, and RA.

The prize committee stated, "These findings have established a novel area of investigation and accelerated the creation of new treatments, for instance for tumors and immune disorders."

Regarding malignancies, T-regs prevent the body from fighting the growth, so research are focused on reducing their numbers.

In self-attack disorders, trials are testing increasing T-reg cells so the body is no longer under attack. A similar approach could also be useful in minimizing the chances of transplanted organ failure.

Pioneering Experiments

Professor Sakaguchi, of Osaka University, conducted experiments on rodents that had their thymus extracted, leading to autoimmune disease.

The researcher showed that injecting immune cells from other mice could stop the illness—implying there was a mechanism for preventing defenders from attacking the body.

Mary Brunkow, affiliated with the a research center in a US city, and Fred Ramsdell, now at a biotech firm in San Francisco, were studying an inherited immune disorder in rodents and people that resulted in the discovery of a gene vital for the way regulatory T-cells operate.

"Their pioneering research has uncovered how the immune system is kept in check by regulatory T cells, stopping it from accidentally targeting the healthy cells," commented a prominent biological science specialist.

"This research is a remarkable illustration of how fundamental biological study can have broad implications for public health."