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The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine has been granted for revolutionary findings that clarify how the immune system targets dangerous infections while sparing the healthy tissues.

A trio of renowned scientists—Japan's Shimon Sakaguchi and US experts Mary Brunkow and Dr. Ramsdell—share this honor.

Their research uncovered unique "security guards" within the defense system that remove malfunctioning immune cells that could harming the organism.

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

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

Crucial Findings

"The work has been decisive for understanding how the immune system operates and why we do not all suffer from severe self-attack conditions," commented the head of the award panel.

This trio's research explain a fundamental mystery: How does the immune system protect us from numerous infections while leaving our own tissues intact?

Our body's protection system uses white blood cells that scan for indicators of infection, including viruses and bacteria it has not met before.

These cells utilize sensors—known as receptors—that are generated randomly in a vast number of variations.

That provides the defense network the capacity to combat a broad range of invaders, but the unpredictability of the process unavoidably produces white blood cells that can target the body.

Protectors of the Body

Researchers previously understood that some of these problematic defense cells were destroyed in the immune organ—the site where immune cells develop.

This year's Nobel Prize honors the discovery of T-reg cells—known as the immune system's "security guards"—which patrol the body to disarm other immune cells that assault the healthy cells.

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

The Nobel panel stated, "The findings have laid the foundation for a novel area of research and spurred the development of innovative treatments, for example for tumors and immune disorders."

Regarding malignancies, regulatory T-cells prevent the body from attacking the tumor, so research are focused on lowering their numbers.

For self-attack disorders, experiments are testing boosting T-reg cells so the organism is not being harmed. A comparable approach could also be effective in reducing the risks of organ transplant failure.

Pioneering Experiments

Prof Shimon Sakaguchi, of a Japanese institution, performed tests on rodents that had their thymus extracted, causing autoimmune disease.

He showed that introducing immune cells from other animals could stop the illness—suggesting there was a system for blocking defenders from harming the body.

Mary Brunkow, affiliated with the a research center in a US city, and Fred Ramsdell, currently at a biotech firm in San Francisco, were studying an inherited autoimmune disease in rodents and people that led to the identification of a gene critical for the way regulatory T-cells operate.

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

"This work is a striking example of how basic physiological study can have far-reaching consequences for public health."