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The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded for transformative findings that illuminate how the immune system attacks harmful infections while sparing the healthy tissues.

Three renowned scientists—from Japan Shimon Sakaguchi and American experts Mary Brunkow and Fred Ramsdell—share this accolade.

Their research identified unique "security guards" within the defense system that eliminate rogue defense cells capable of harming the organism.

These discoveries are now paving the way for new therapies for autoimmune diseases and cancer.

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

Crucial Discoveries

"The research has been essential for understanding how the body's defenses functions and the reason we do not all develop serious self-attack conditions," stated the head of the Nobel Committee.

This team's studies address a core mystery: How does the defense system protect us from numerous infections while leaving our healthy cells intact?

Our immune system uses white blood cells that scan for indicators of infection, including viruses and germs it has not met before.

Such cells employ sensors—known as recognition units—that are generated randomly in a vast number of combinations.

This provides the immune system the capacity to fight a broad range of threats, but the randomness of the process unavoidably creates immune cells that may target the host.

Protectors of the Body

Scientists earlier knew that some of these harmful white blood cells were eliminated in the immune organ—the site where immune cells mature.

The latest award recognizes the identification of T-reg cells—described as the immune system's "peacekeepers"—which patrol the body to neutralize other immune cells that assault the healthy cells.

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

A prize committee stated, "These discoveries have established a novel area of investigation and accelerated the creation of new treatments, for instance for cancer and immune disorders."

Regarding malignancies, regulatory T-cells prevent the system from fighting the growth, so research are aimed at lowering their numbers.

For self-attack disorders, experiments are testing increasing regulatory T-cells so the body is no longer being harmed. A similar approach could also be useful in minimizing the risks of organ transplant rejection.

Innovative Experiments

Professor Sakaguchi, from Osaka University, conducted tests on mice that had their thymus removed, leading to autoimmune disease.

He demonstrated that injecting immune cells from other mice could prevent the disease—implying there was a mechanism for preventing defenders from attacking the body.

Dr. Brunkow, affiliated with the Institute for Systems Biology in Seattle, and Dr. Ramsdell, currently at a biotech firm in a California city, were studying an inherited immune disorder in mice and humans that resulted in the discovery of a genetic factor critical for the way regulatory T-cells operate.

"The pioneering research has revealed how the immune system is controlled by T-reg cells, stopping it from mistakenly targeting the body's own tissues," said a leading biological science specialist.

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