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The Nobel Prize in medical science was granted for transformative discoveries that clarify how the immune system attacks dangerous pathogens while protecting the healthy tissues.

Three renowned scientists—Japan's Prof. Sakaguchi and US experts Mary Brunkow and Fred Ramsdell—received this accolade.

Their research identified unique "sentinels" within the defense system that remove malfunctioning defense cells capable of attacking the body.

These discoveries are now enabling new therapies for immune disorders and malignancies.

The laureates will divide a prize fund valued at 11 million Swedish kronor.

Crucial Findings

"Their work has been essential for understanding how the body's defenses operates and the reason we don't all develop severe autoimmune diseases," commented the chair of the award panel.

This trio's studies explain a core mystery: In what way does the immune system protect us from countless invaders while keeping our healthy cells unharmed?

The immune system employs white blood cells that search for signs of disease, even pathogens and bacteria it has not met before.

Such defenders utilize detectors—called receptors—that are generated randomly in countless variations.

This provides the defense network the capacity to combat a broad range of threats, but the unpredictability of the mechanism unavoidably produces white blood cells that may target the host.

Protectors of the Immune System

Scientists previously understood that a portion of these problematic defense cells were eliminated in the immune organ—the site where white blood cells mature.

This year's Nobel Prize recognizes the identification of regulatory T-cells—described as the immune system's "security guards"—which travel through the system to disarm other defenders that attack the healthy cells.

It is known that this process fails in autoimmune diseases such as type-1 diabetes, MS, and rheumatoid arthritis.

The prize committee added, "The findings have established a novel area of investigation and spurred the development of new treatments, for example for tumors and autoimmune diseases."

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

For self-attack disorders, trials are exploring boosting T-reg cells so the organism is not under attack. A comparable approach could also be useful in reducing the chances of transplanted organ failure.

Innovative Experiments

Professor Sakaguchi, from a Japanese institution, conducted experiments on rodents that had their immune gland removed, leading to autoimmune disease.

The researcher demonstrated that injecting defense cells from healthy animals could stop the illness—implying there was a mechanism for preventing immune cells from attacking the body.

Mary Brunkow, from the a research center in a US city, and Dr. Ramsdell, now at Sonoma Biotherapeutics in a California city, were studying an genetic autoimmune disease in mice and humans that led to the identification of a genetic factor critical for how T-regs operate.

"Their groundbreaking research has uncovered how the immune system is kept in check by regulatory T cells, preventing it from accidentally attacking the healthy cells," said a leading biological science expert.

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