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This year's Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded for revolutionary discoveries that illuminate how the immune system targets harmful pathogens while protecting the healthy tissues.

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

Their work identified unique "security guards" within the defense system that remove malfunctioning immune cells capable of harming the organism.

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

These winners will divide a prize fund worth 11m Swedish kronor.

Decisive Findings

"The work has been essential for understanding how the immune system operates and the reason we do not all suffer from severe self-attack conditions," commented the chair of the award panel.

The trio's studies explain a fundamental question: In what way does the immune system protect us from numerous invaders while leaving our healthy cells unharmed?

Our body's protection system employs white blood cells that scan for indicators of infection, including pathogens and germs it has not met before.

Such defenders utilize detectors—known as recognition units—that are generated by chance in a vast number of variations.

That gives the defense network the ability to combat a broad range of invaders, but the unpredictability of the process unavoidably creates immune cells that can target the body.

Security Guards of the Body

Researchers earlier knew that some of these harmful white blood cells were eliminated in the thymus—the site where white blood cells develop.

This year's award honors the discovery of regulatory T-cells—described as the immune system's "peacekeepers"—which patrol the system to disarm other defenders that assault the healthy cells.

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

A Nobel panel added, "These discoveries have established a novel area of investigation and accelerated the development of new treatments, for example for cancer and immune disorders."

In cancer, regulatory T-cells block the system from fighting the tumor, so studies are aimed at lowering their numbers.

In autoimmune diseases, experiments are testing boosting T-reg cells so the organism is not being harmed. A similar method could also be effective in minimizing the risks of organ transplant rejection.

Pioneering Experiments

Prof Shimon Sakaguchi, of a Japanese institution, performed experiments on mice that had their immune gland extracted, causing autoimmune disease.

The researcher showed that injecting defense cells from healthy mice could prevent the disease—implying there was a mechanism for blocking defenders from harming the host.

Mary Brunkow, affiliated with the Institute for Systems Biology in a US city, and Fred Ramsdell, now at Sonoma Biotherapeutics in a California city, were investigating an genetic autoimmune disease in mice and people that led to the discovery of a genetic factor vital for the way T-regs function.

"The groundbreaking work has uncovered how the immune system is kept in check by regulatory T cells, preventing it from mistakenly targeting the body's own tissues," commented a leading physiology expert.

"This research is a striking example of how basic physiological research can have far-reaching implications for public health."