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This year's prestigious award in Physiology or Medicine was awarded for revolutionary findings that clarify how the body's defense network targets dangerous pathogens while protecting the healthy tissues.

A trio of renowned researchers—Japan's Shimon Sakaguchi and US experts Dr. Brunkow and Dr. Ramsdell—share this honor.

Their research uncovered specialized "security guards" within the immune system that remove rogue defense cells that could attacking the organism.

These findings are now enabling innovative therapies for autoimmune diseases and malignancies.

The laureates will share a monetary award worth 11 million Swedish kronor.

Decisive Findings

"The work has been essential for understanding how the immune system functions and the reason we don't all develop serious autoimmune diseases," commented the chair of the award panel.

The team's studies explain a fundamental question: How does the defense system protect us from numerous invaders while leaving our healthy cells unharmed?

The body's protection system employs immune cells that scan for signs of infection, including viruses and bacteria it has never encountered.

These cells utilize detectors—called recognition units—that are produced randomly in a vast number of variations.

This gives the defense network the capacity to fight a broad range of threats, but the randomness of the process unavoidably creates white blood cells that can target the body.

Security Guards of the Body

Scientists earlier knew that a portion of these harmful defense cells were eliminated in the thymus—the site where immune cells develop.

The latest award honors the discovery of T-reg cells—described as the immune system's "peacekeepers"—which travel through the body to disarm any immune cells that assault the body's own tissues.

We know that this process malfunctions in self-attack conditions such as type-1 diabetes, multiple sclerosis, and rheumatoid arthritis.

A prize committee added, "The discoveries have established a novel area of research and accelerated the creation of innovative therapies, for instance for tumors and autoimmune diseases."

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

In self-attack disorders, trials are exploring boosting 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.

Innovative Studies

Professor Shimon Sakaguchi, from Osaka University, performed tests on rodents that had their immune gland removed, leading to autoimmune disease.

The researcher demonstrated that introducing immune cells from healthy animals could stop the illness—suggesting there was a mechanism for blocking immune cells from harming the body.

Mary Brunkow, affiliated with the a research center in Seattle, and Fred Ramsdell, currently at Sonoma Biotherapeutics in San Francisco, were studying an inherited immune disorder in mice and people that resulted in the discovery of a genetic factor vital for how T-regs operate.

"The pioneering work has revealed how the immune system is kept in check by T-reg cells, stopping it from mistakenly targeting the healthy cells," said a leading biological science expert.

"The research is a striking illustration of how basic biological study can have broad consequences for public health."