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This year's prestigious award in Physiology or Medicine has been awarded for transformative findings that illuminate how the immune system targets dangerous pathogens while sparing the healthy tissues.

Three renowned scientists—from Japan Shimon Sakaguchi and US experts Dr. Brunkow and Fred Ramsdell—received this accolade.

The work uncovered unique "security guards" within the immune system that eliminate rogue defense cells that could attacking the body.

The discoveries are now paving the way for innovative treatments for immune disorders and malignancies.

These laureates will divide a prize fund valued at 11m Swedish kronor.

Crucial Discoveries

"Their research has been decisive for comprehending how the immune system operates and the reason we do not all develop serious autoimmune diseases," stated the head of the Nobel Committee.

The team's research address a fundamental mystery: In what way does the defense system protect us from countless invaders while leaving our healthy cells unharmed?

The body's protection system uses white blood cells that scan for signs of infection, even pathogens and bacteria it has never encountered.

These cells utilize sensors—called receptors—that are generated by chance in a vast number of variations.

This provides the immune system the capacity to combat a wide array of threats, but the unpredictability of the process inevitably produces white blood cells that can attack the host.

Security Guards of the Body

Researchers earlier understood that a portion of these harmful defense cells were destroyed in the immune organ—the site where white blood cells mature.

This year's award recognizes the discovery of regulatory T-cells—known as the immune system's "peacekeepers"—which travel through the body to neutralize other immune cells that assault the body's own tissues.

It is known that this process malfunctions in autoimmune diseases such as type-1 diabetes, MS, and RA.

A Nobel panel added, "These findings have laid the foundation for a new field of research and accelerated the creation of new therapies, for instance for cancer and immune disorders."

Regarding malignancies, T-regs block the system from fighting the growth, so studies are aimed at reducing their numbers.

In autoimmune diseases, experiments are testing boosting T-reg cells so the organism is no longer being harmed. A comparable approach could also be useful in minimizing the risks of organ transplant rejection.

Pioneering Experiments

Professor Shimon Sakaguchi, from Osaka University, conducted experiments on rodents that had their immune gland removed, causing autoimmune disease.

He demonstrated that introducing defense cells from healthy animals could stop the disease—implying there was a system for preventing defenders from attacking the host.

Mary Brunkow, from the a research center in Seattle, and Dr. Ramsdell, now at Sonoma Biotherapeutics in San Francisco, were investigating an genetic immune disorder in rodents and people that resulted in the discovery of a gene critical for the way T-regs operate.

"The pioneering research has revealed how the immune system is controlled by regulatory T cells, stopping it from accidentally targeting the body's own tissues," commented a leading physiology expert.

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