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The prestigious award in medical science was awarded for revolutionary discoveries that clarify how the immune system attacks harmful pathogens while protecting the healthy tissues.

A trio of renowned researchers—Japan's Prof. Sakaguchi and American experts Mary Brunkow and Fred Ramsdell—share this accolade.

Their work identified unique "security guards" within the immune system that remove rogue immune cells that could harming the organism.

The findings are now paving the way for innovative treatments for autoimmune diseases and cancer.

The laureates will share a prize fund worth 11 million SEK.

Decisive Findings

"Their research has been essential for understanding how the immune system operates and the reason we don't all develop serious self-attack conditions," commented the head of the award panel.

This trio's studies explain a core question: In what way does the defense system defend us from numerous invaders while leaving our healthy cells intact?

Our body's protection system employs white blood cells that scan for signs of infection, including viruses and germs it has never encountered.

Such cells employ detectors—known as recognition units—that are produced randomly in countless combinations.

That gives the immune system the ability to combat a broad range of threats, but the unpredictability of the mechanism inevitably produces immune cells that can attack the host.

Protectors of the Body

Researchers earlier understood that a portion of these problematic white blood cells were eliminated in the immune organ—the site where white blood cells develop.

This year's Nobel Prize honors the discovery of T-reg cells—known as the immune system's "peacekeepers"—which travel through the body to neutralize any immune cells that assault the body's own tissues.

We know that this process malfunctions in autoimmune diseases such as juvenile diabetes, MS, and rheumatoid arthritis.

A Nobel panel stated, "The discoveries have established a novel area of research and spurred the development of new treatments, for instance for cancer and immune disorders."

In cancer, regulatory T-cells block the body from fighting the growth, so studies are focused on lowering their quantity.

For self-attack disorders, trials are testing increasing regulatory T-cells so the organism is not under attack. A similar method could also be useful in minimizing the chances of transplanted organ failure.

Innovative Studies

Prof Shimon Sakaguchi, of a Japanese institution, performed tests on mice that had their thymus extracted, leading to self-attack conditions.

He demonstrated that injecting immune cells from other animals could stop the illness—suggesting there was a system for blocking immune cells from attacking the body.

Mary Brunkow, from the Institute for Systems Biology in Seattle, and Dr. Ramsdell, now at Sonoma Biotherapeutics in San Francisco, were investigating an genetic autoimmune disease in mice and people that led to the identification of a genetic factor vital for the way regulatory T-cells function.

"Their pioneering research has revealed how the body's defenses is controlled by T-reg cells, stopping it from accidentally targeting the healthy cells," commented a prominent biological science expert.

"This research is a striking illustration of how basic biological study can have far-reaching implications for public health."