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This year's Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was granted for transformative findings that illuminate how the body's defense network attacks dangerous pathogens while protecting the body's own cells.

Three renowned scientists—Japan's Shimon Sakaguchi and American scientists Mary Brunkow and Dr. Ramsdell—received this honor.

Their research identified specialized "sentinels" within the defense system that eliminate malfunctioning defense cells that could attacking the body.

The findings are now paving the way for new therapies for autoimmune diseases and malignancies.

The laureates will share a monetary award worth 11m SEK.

Decisive Findings

"Their work has been decisive for understanding how the body's defenses operates and the reason we do not all develop serious autoimmune diseases," commented the chair of the award panel.

This trio's studies address a core mystery: In what way does the defense system defend us from numerous invaders while keeping our own tissues unharmed?

The body's protection system employs immune cells that search for signs of infection, even pathogens and germs it has never encountered.

These cells employ detectors—known as receptors—that are produced by chance in countless combinations.

This provides the immune system the capacity to fight a wide array of invaders, but the unpredictability of the process unavoidably creates immune cells that may attack the body.

Protectors of the Body

Researchers previously knew that some of these problematic defense cells were eliminated in the thymus—where white blood cells develop.

The latest award recognizes the identification of T-reg cells—described as the immune system's "security guards"—which travel through the body to disarm other immune cells that attack the body's own tissues.

We know that this mechanism malfunctions in self-attack conditions such as juvenile diabetes, multiple sclerosis, and RA.

A Nobel panel added, "The discoveries have established a novel area of research and accelerated the creation of innovative therapies, for instance for tumors and immune disorders."

Regarding cancer, T-regs prevent the body from attacking the tumor, so studies are focused on reducing their numbers.

For self-attack disorders, trials are testing increasing T-reg cells so the organism is not under attack. A similar approach could also be useful in minimizing the chances of organ transplant rejection.

Pioneering Experiments

Prof Shimon Sakaguchi, of a Japanese institution, conducted tests on rodents that had their immune gland removed, leading to self-attack conditions.

The researcher showed that injecting defense cells from healthy animals could stop the disease—implying there was a mechanism for blocking immune cells from harming the host.

Dr. Brunkow, affiliated with the a research center in a US city, and Dr. Ramsdell, currently at a biotech firm in a California city, were studying an inherited autoimmune disease in rodents and humans that resulted in the identification of a gene vital for the way regulatory T-cells operate.

"Their pioneering work has revealed how the immune system is controlled by T-reg cells, preventing it from accidentally attacking the healthy cells," commented a leading physiology specialist.

"This research is a remarkable example of how fundamental biological study can have broad consequences for human health."