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The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine has been granted for revolutionary findings that clarify how the body's defense network attacks dangerous infections while sparing the healthy tissues.

A trio of renowned scientists—Japan's Prof. Sakaguchi and US experts Mary Brunkow and Dr. Ramsdell—received this accolade.

Their research identified specialized "security guards" within the immune system that remove rogue immune cells that could attacking the organism.

These discoveries are now paving the way for new therapies for autoimmune diseases and cancer.

The winners will divide a monetary award worth 11 million SEK.

Decisive Findings

"The research has been essential for comprehending how the body's defenses functions and why we do not all suffer from severe autoimmune diseases," commented the head of the award panel.

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

The body's protection system uses immune cells that scan for indicators of disease, even viruses and germs it has never encountered.

Such cells utilize detectors—known as recognition units—that are produced randomly in countless combinations.

This gives the immune system the ability to fight a broad range of invaders, but the randomness of the process unavoidably produces white blood cells that can target the host.

Protectors of the Immune System

Scientists earlier knew that some of these harmful defense cells were eliminated in the immune organ—where white blood cells mature.

The latest award recognizes the identification of regulatory T-cells—described as the immune system's "peacekeepers"—which patrol the body to neutralize any defenders that attack the healthy cells.

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

The Nobel panel stated, "These findings have laid the foundation for a novel area of investigation and spurred the creation of new therapies, for example for tumors and immune disorders."

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

In self-attack disorders, experiments are exploring increasing T-reg cells so the organism is not being harmed. A comparable approach could also be effective in minimizing the chances of organ transplant failure.

Innovative Experiments

Professor Sakaguchi, of Osaka University, conducted experiments on rodents that had their thymus removed, causing self-attack conditions.

The researcher demonstrated that introducing defense cells from healthy animals could stop the disease—suggesting there was a mechanism for blocking immune cells from attacking the host.

Mary Brunkow, affiliated with the a research center in Seattle, and Fred Ramsdell, currently at Sonoma Biotherapeutics in San Francisco, were studying an genetic autoimmune disease in mice and humans that resulted in the discovery of a gene vital for the way T-regs function.

"Their groundbreaking work has uncovered how the immune system is kept in check by T-reg cells, preventing it from accidentally targeting the body's own tissues," said a leading biological science expert.

"The research is a remarkable illustration of how basic biological research can have broad consequences for human health."