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The prestigious award in medical science was granted for revolutionary discoveries that clarify how the immune system attacks harmful pathogens while protecting the body's own cells.

Three renowned researchers—Japan's Prof. Sakaguchi and US scientists Dr. Brunkow and Dr. Ramsdell—share this honor.

The research identified specialized "sentinels" within the defense system that eliminate rogue immune cells that could attacking the body.

The discoveries are now enabling new therapies for autoimmune diseases and malignancies.

These winners will divide a prize fund worth 11m Swedish kronor.

Decisive Discoveries

"The research has been essential for understanding how the body's defenses functions and why we don't all suffer from severe self-attack conditions," stated the chair of the award panel.

This trio's research address a core mystery: In what way does the immune system protect us from numerous infections while keeping our own tissues unharmed?

The body's protection system employs immune cells that search for indicators of infection, even pathogens and germs it has not met before.

These defenders utilize sensors—known as recognition units—that are produced randomly in a vast number of variations.

That gives the immune system the ability to combat a broad range of invaders, but the randomness of the process unavoidably creates white blood cells that may target the host.

Protectors of the Body

Scientists earlier understood that some of these harmful white blood cells were destroyed in the immune organ—where white blood cells develop.

The latest Nobel Prize recognizes the identification of T-reg cells—known as the immune system's "security guards"—which patrol the body to disarm other immune cells that attack the healthy cells.

We know that this mechanism fails in autoimmune diseases such as juvenile diabetes, multiple sclerosis, and RA.

A Nobel panel added, "The findings have established a new field of investigation and accelerated the creation of new therapies, for instance for cancer and autoimmune diseases."

In malignancies, regulatory T-cells prevent the system from attacking the growth, so research are focused on reducing their quantity.

In self-attack disorders, trials are exploring increasing T-reg cells so the organism is no longer being harmed. A comparable method could also be useful in reducing the chances of transplanted organ failure.

Innovative Studies

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

The researcher demonstrated that injecting immune cells from other animals could stop the disease—implying there was a mechanism for blocking immune cells from attacking the host.

Dr. Brunkow, affiliated with the a research center in a US city, and Fred Ramsdell, now at a biotech firm in a California city, were investigating an inherited immune disorder in mice and people that resulted in the identification of a genetic factor critical for how regulatory T-cells operate.

"The groundbreaking research has revealed how the body's defenses is kept in check by regulatory T cells, stopping it from mistakenly attacking the healthy cells," said a leading physiology specialist.

"This research is a remarkable illustration of how basic biological research can have far-reaching consequences for public health."