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The Nobel Prize in medical science has been awarded for transformative findings that clarify how the immune system attacks dangerous pathogens while protecting the body's own cells.

Three renowned scientists—Japan's Prof. Sakaguchi and American experts Mary Brunkow and Dr. Ramsdell—share this accolade.

The research identified unique "security guards" within the immune system that eliminate rogue immune cells capable of attacking the organism.

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

These laureates will share a prize fund worth 11 million SEK.

Crucial Discoveries

"Their research has been essential for comprehending how the immune system functions and the reason we don't all suffer from severe self-attack conditions," stated the chair of the Nobel Committee.

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

Our immune system uses white blood cells that search for signs of disease, even pathogens and germs it has never encountered.

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

This provides the defense network the ability to combat a broad range of threats, but the randomness of the mechanism inevitably produces immune cells that may target the body.

Security Guards of the Body

Scientists earlier knew that a portion of these problematic white blood cells were destroyed in the thymus—where white blood cells develop.

The latest award honors the discovery of regulatory T-cells—described as the body's "security guards"—which travel through the system to neutralize other defenders that attack the body's own tissues.

We know that this mechanism fails in self-attack conditions such as juvenile diabetes, MS, and RA.

A prize committee added, "The findings have laid the foundation for a new field of investigation and spurred the creation of innovative therapies, for example for tumors and immune disorders."

Regarding malignancies, regulatory T-cells prevent the system from attacking the tumor, so studies are focused on reducing their quantity.

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

Pioneering Studies

Prof Sakaguchi, from Osaka University, conducted tests on rodents that had their thymus removed, leading to self-attack conditions.

The researcher demonstrated that injecting defense cells from healthy mice could stop the disease—implying there was a mechanism for preventing defenders from attacking the host.

Mary Brunkow, from the a research center in a US city, and Fred Ramsdell, now at a biotech firm in a California city, were studying an inherited autoimmune disease in mice and humans that led to the identification of a gene critical for the way T-regs operate.

"Their pioneering research has revealed how the immune system is controlled by T-reg cells, preventing it from mistakenly targeting the body's own tissues," commented a prominent physiology specialist.

"This research is a remarkable example of how fundamental biological research can have far-reaching implications for public health."