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This year's prestigious award in Physiology or Medicine was awarded for revolutionary findings that clarify how the body's defense network attacks harmful pathogens while sparing the body's own cells.

Three renowned scientists—from Japan Shimon Sakaguchi and US experts Mary Brunkow and Fred Ramsdell—share this accolade.

The research uncovered specialized "security guards" within the defense system that remove rogue defense cells that could attacking the body.

The findings are now enabling innovative therapies for autoimmune diseases and cancer.

The winners will share a monetary award worth 11m Swedish kronor.

Crucial Findings

"The research has been decisive for comprehending how the immune system operates and why we do not all develop serious autoimmune diseases," commented the chair of the Nobel Committee.

The team's research explain a fundamental mystery: How does the immune system protect us from numerous infections while leaving our healthy cells intact?

Our immune system uses immune cells that search for indicators of infection, even viruses and bacteria it has never encountered.

These defenders employ sensors—known as receptors—that are generated randomly in countless combinations.

That gives the immune system the capacity to fight a broad range of threats, but the randomness of the mechanism unavoidably produces immune cells that can target the host.

Protectors of the Immune System

Researchers earlier knew that some of these problematic white blood cells were destroyed in the thymus—where white blood cells develop.

This year's award recognizes the discovery of T-reg cells—known as the immune system's "peacekeepers"—which patrol the body to neutralize other defenders that assault the body's own tissues.

It is known that this mechanism fails in self-attack conditions such as juvenile diabetes, MS, and rheumatoid arthritis.

A prize committee stated, "These discoveries have established a novel area of research and spurred the development of innovative treatments, for example for tumors and autoimmune diseases."

Regarding malignancies, T-regs prevent the system from fighting the growth, so studies are aimed at lowering their quantity.

In autoimmune diseases, experiments are exploring boosting T-reg cells so the organism is no longer under attack. A comparable method could also be useful in reducing the risks of organ transplant failure.

Pioneering Experiments

Professor Shimon Sakaguchi, from a Japanese institution, conducted tests on mice that had their immune gland removed, causing self-attack conditions.

The researcher demonstrated that injecting immune cells from other mice could prevent the disease—implying there was a system for preventing immune cells from harming the body.

Mary Brunkow, from the Institute for Systems Biology in a US city, and Fred Ramsdell, currently at Sonoma Biotherapeutics in a California city, were investigating an inherited immune disorder in mice and humans that led to the discovery of a gene vital for how regulatory T-cells function.

"The groundbreaking work has uncovered how the body's defenses is controlled by regulatory T cells, stopping it from accidentally attacking the body's own tissues," said a prominent physiology expert.

"The work is a remarkable example of how basic physiological study can have broad consequences for human health."