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This year's prestigious award in Physiology or Medicine has been granted for transformative findings that illuminate how the immune system attacks dangerous infections while sparing the body's own cells.

A trio of renowned scientists—from Japan Prof. Sakaguchi and American experts Mary Brunkow and Dr. Ramsdell—received this accolade.

The work identified unique "sentinels" within the immune system that eliminate rogue immune cells that could attacking the body.

The findings are now paving the way for new treatments for immune disorders and cancer.

The winners will share a monetary award valued at 11 million Swedish kronor.

Decisive Findings

"The research has been decisive for understanding how the immune system operates and the reason we do not all develop severe autoimmune diseases," commented the head of the Nobel Committee.

This team's research explain a fundamental question: How does the defense system protect us from countless invaders while keeping our own tissues unharmed?

The body's protection system uses immune cells that scan for signs of disease, even pathogens and germs it has not met before.

These cells employ detectors—called recognition units—that are generated randomly in countless combinations.

That provides the defense network the capacity to fight a wide array of threats, but the unpredictability of the process unavoidably produces immune cells that may attack the host.

Protectors of the Immune System

Researchers earlier knew that a portion of these problematic white blood cells were eliminated in the immune organ—where immune cells develop.

The latest award recognizes the discovery of regulatory T-cells—described as the immune system's "peacekeepers"—which travel through the body to disarm other immune cells that attack the healthy cells.

It is known that this mechanism malfunctions in self-attack conditions such as juvenile diabetes, MS, and RA.

A Nobel panel added, "These findings have laid the foundation for a novel area of investigation and spurred the development of innovative therapies, for instance for tumors and autoimmune diseases."

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

For self-attack disorders, experiments are exploring boosting regulatory T-cells so the organism is no longer being harmed. A similar method could also be useful in reducing the chances of transplanted organ rejection.

Pioneering Experiments

Prof Shimon Sakaguchi, of Osaka University, conducted experiments on mice that had their thymus removed, causing self-attack conditions.

He demonstrated that injecting defense cells from other mice could stop the illness—implying there was a system for blocking defenders from harming the body.

Mary Brunkow, affiliated with the Institute for Systems Biology in a US city, and Fred Ramsdell, currently at Sonoma Biotherapeutics in a California city, were studying an inherited autoimmune disease in mice and people that resulted in the discovery of a gene vital for the way regulatory T-cells function.

"Their pioneering work has uncovered how the immune system is controlled by T-reg cells, preventing it from mistakenly targeting the healthy cells," said a leading biological science specialist.

"This work is a remarkable illustration of how basic biological study can have far-reaching implications for public health."