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The Nobel Prize in medical science has been awarded for revolutionary findings that clarify how the body's defense network attacks harmful pathogens while protecting the body's own cells.

Three esteemed researchers—from Japan Shimon Sakaguchi and US scientists Dr. Brunkow and Fred Ramsdell—share this honor.

Their work uncovered unique "sentinels" within the immune system that remove malfunctioning immune cells that could attacking the body.

These findings are now paving the way for innovative treatments for autoimmune diseases and malignancies.

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

Crucial Findings

"The research has been decisive for comprehending how the body's defenses functions and why we don't all suffer from serious autoimmune diseases," stated the head of the award panel.

The trio's studies address a core question: In what way does the immune system protect us from numerous invaders while keeping our own tissues intact?

The body's protection system employs immune cells that scan for indicators of disease, including viruses and bacteria it has not met before.

These cells employ sensors—called receptors—that are produced by chance in a vast number of combinations.

This provides the immune system the ability to fight a broad range of invaders, but the unpredictability of the process inevitably creates immune cells that may attack the host.

Security Guards of the Immune System

Researchers previously understood that a portion of these problematic defense cells were destroyed in the thymus—the site where white blood cells develop.

The latest award honors the discovery of regulatory T-cells—described as the body's "security guards"—which patrol the system to neutralize any immune cells that attack the body's own tissues.

It is known that this mechanism fails in autoimmune diseases such as juvenile diabetes, MS, and RA.

The Nobel panel stated, "These discoveries have established a new field of research and spurred the creation of innovative treatments, for instance for cancer and immune disorders."

Regarding malignancies, T-regs prevent the system from attacking the tumor, so studies are focused on reducing their quantity.

For self-attack disorders, experiments are testing boosting T-reg cells so the body is not under attack. A comparable approach could also be effective in reducing the risks of organ transplant failure.

Pioneering Experiments

Prof Sakaguchi, from Osaka University, performed experiments on mice that had their immune gland extracted, causing autoimmune disease.

He showed that introducing defense cells from other animals could prevent the disease—suggesting there was a mechanism for preventing defenders from harming the host.

Dr. Brunkow, from the Institute for Systems Biology in a US city, and Fred Ramsdell, currently at Sonoma Biotherapeutics in San Francisco, were investigating an genetic autoimmune disease in rodents and humans that resulted in the discovery of a genetic factor critical for how regulatory T-cells function.

"Their pioneering research has revealed how the immune system is kept in check by T-reg cells, stopping it from mistakenly targeting the body's own tissues," commented a leading biological science specialist.

"The research is a striking example of how basic biological study can have broad consequences for public health."