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This year's Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded for transformative discoveries that clarify how the immune system attacks dangerous pathogens while protecting the body's own cells.

A trio of renowned scientists—from Japan Shimon Sakaguchi and US scientists Dr. Brunkow and Fred Ramsdell—received this accolade.

Their research identified unique "sentinels" within the defense system that remove rogue defense cells capable of harming the body.

The findings are now paving the way for new therapies for autoimmune diseases and cancer.

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

Decisive Discoveries

"The work has been decisive for comprehending how the immune system operates and the reason we don't all suffer from serious autoimmune diseases," commented the chair of the Nobel Committee.

This team's studies explain a core mystery: In what way does the defense system protect us from countless infections while leaving our own tissues intact?

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

These cells employ detectors—known as recognition units—that are generated by chance in a vast number of variations.

That gives the defense network the ability to fight a wide array of threats, but the randomness of the process inevitably produces white blood cells that may attack the body.

Protectors of the Immune System

Researchers previously knew that some of these harmful defense cells were destroyed in the immune organ—the site where white blood cells mature.

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

It is known that this process malfunctions in self-attack conditions such as type-1 diabetes, MS, and rheumatoid arthritis.

The Nobel panel stated, "These discoveries have laid the foundation for a new field of investigation and accelerated the development of new therapies, for instance for cancer and immune disorders."

Regarding cancer, regulatory T-cells prevent the system from attacking the growth, so research are aimed at reducing their quantity.

For autoimmune diseases, trials are exploring boosting regulatory T-cells so the body is not being harmed. A similar approach could also be effective in reducing the chances of organ transplant rejection.

Innovative Experiments

Professor Sakaguchi, of a Japanese institution, performed experiments on rodents that had their thymus removed, causing autoimmune disease.

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

Mary Brunkow, affiliated with the a research center in Seattle, 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 genetic factor critical for how regulatory T-cells function.

"The groundbreaking research has revealed how the body's defenses is kept in check by regulatory T cells, stopping it from accidentally attacking the body's own tissues," commented a leading biological science expert.

"This research is a remarkable example of how basic biological study can have broad implications for human health."