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This year's Nobel Prize in medical science was granted for revolutionary findings that illuminate how the immune system attacks harmful pathogens while protecting the healthy tissues.

Three renowned scientists—from Japan Prof. Sakaguchi and US scientists Mary Brunkow and Fred Ramsdell—share this accolade.

The research uncovered unique "security guards" within the immune system that remove rogue defense cells that could harming the body.

The findings are now enabling innovative treatments for autoimmune diseases and malignancies.

These laureates will share a monetary award valued at 11 million SEK.

Decisive Discoveries

"The work has been essential for understanding how the immune system functions and the reason we don't all suffer from serious self-attack conditions," commented the head of the Nobel Committee.

The trio's research explain a fundamental question: In what way does the defense system defend us from numerous infections while keeping our healthy cells unharmed?

Our immune system uses immune cells that search for indicators of infection, including viruses and bacteria it has not met before.

Such defenders employ sensors—called receptors—that are generated randomly in a vast number of combinations.

That gives the defense network the ability to fight a wide array of threats, but the randomness of the mechanism unavoidably creates immune cells that can target the body.

Security Guards of the Immune System

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

This year's award recognizes the identification of T-reg cells—described as the body's "security guards"—which travel through the system to neutralize any defenders that assault the healthy cells.

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

The prize committee added, "The discoveries have established a new field of investigation and spurred the development of new treatments, for example for cancer and immune disorders."

Regarding cancer, T-regs prevent the body from fighting the growth, so research are aimed at reducing their quantity.

In self-attack disorders, trials are testing boosting regulatory T-cells so the body is no longer being harmed. A comparable approach could also be useful in minimizing the risks of transplanted organ rejection.

Pioneering Experiments

Professor Sakaguchi, from Osaka University, conducted tests on rodents that had their immune gland extracted, leading to autoimmune disease.

He demonstrated that introducing immune cells from other mice could prevent the illness—implying there was a system for preventing immune cells from attacking the body.

Dr. Brunkow, from the a research center in Seattle, and Fred Ramsdell, currently at Sonoma Biotherapeutics in San Francisco, were studying an inherited autoimmune disease in rodents and humans that resulted in the identification of a genetic factor vital for the way regulatory T-cells function.

"The groundbreaking research has uncovered how the body's defenses is controlled by regulatory T cells, stopping it from mistakenly targeting the healthy cells," said a leading physiology specialist.

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