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This year's prestigious award in Physiology or Medicine was granted for revolutionary findings that illuminate how the body's defense network targets harmful infections while protecting the body's own cells.

A trio of esteemed scientists—from Japan Prof. Sakaguchi and US scientists Dr. Brunkow and Fred Ramsdell—received this honor.

Their research identified specialized "sentinels" within the defense system that remove rogue defense cells capable of attacking the organism.

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

These laureates will share a monetary award worth 11m SEK.

Crucial Findings

"Their research has been decisive for comprehending how the immune system functions and the reason we do not all suffer from serious self-attack conditions," commented the head of the award panel.

This team's studies address a fundamental question: How does the defense system protect us from countless infections while keeping our healthy cells intact?

Our immune system employs immune cells that scan for signs of disease, including pathogens and germs it has not met before.

Such defenders employ sensors—known as receptors—that are produced randomly in a vast number of variations.

That gives the immune system the capacity to fight a broad range of threats, but the unpredictability of the mechanism inevitably creates white blood cells that may target the body.

Protectors of the Body

Researchers earlier understood that some of these harmful defense cells were eliminated in the immune organ—the site where white blood cells develop.

This year's award honors the identification of regulatory T-cells—known as the immune system's "peacekeepers"—which travel through the body to disarm any defenders that assault the body's own tissues.

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

The Nobel panel stated, "The discoveries have laid the foundation for a new field of research and spurred the development of innovative treatments, for instance for cancer and autoimmune diseases."

In cancer, T-regs prevent the system from fighting the growth, so studies are aimed at reducing their quantity.

For autoimmune diseases, experiments are exploring increasing T-reg cells so the organism is not being harmed. A similar approach could also be effective in reducing the risks of transplanted organ failure.

Innovative Experiments

Professor Shimon Sakaguchi, of a Japanese institution, conducted tests on mice that had their thymus removed, leading to autoimmune disease.

The researcher showed that injecting immune cells from other mice could stop the disease—suggesting there was a system for preventing immune cells from attacking the body.

Mary Brunkow, from the Institute for Systems Biology in Seattle, and Dr. Ramsdell, currently at Sonoma Biotherapeutics in San Francisco, were investigating an inherited autoimmune disease in mice and people that led to the identification of a gene critical for the way regulatory T-cells operate.

"The groundbreaking research has revealed how the body's defenses is controlled by T-reg cells, preventing it from accidentally attacking the body's own tissues," commented a leading physiology specialist.

"This work is a striking example of how fundamental physiological research can have far-reaching implications for human health."