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The prestigious award in medical science was granted for revolutionary findings that illuminate how the body's defense network attacks dangerous infections while protecting the body's own cells.

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

Their work uncovered specialized "security guards" within the immune system that eliminate malfunctioning immune cells capable of harming the organism.

These findings are now enabling new treatments for autoimmune diseases and cancer.

The laureates will divide a monetary award valued at 11 million Swedish kronor.

Crucial Discoveries

"The research has been decisive for understanding how the body's defenses operates and the reason we don't all develop severe self-attack conditions," commented the head of the Nobel Committee.

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

The body's protection system uses white blood cells that scan for indicators of infection, even viruses and bacteria it has not met before.

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

That provides the immune system the capacity to combat a wide array of threats, but the unpredictability of the process inevitably produces immune cells that may target the host.

Security Guards of the Body

Researchers previously knew that some of these harmful white blood cells were destroyed in the thymus—where immune cells mature.

This year's Nobel Prize honors the discovery of T-reg cells—known as the immune system's "peacekeepers"—which patrol the system to neutralize any defenders that attack the healthy cells.

We know that this mechanism fails in autoimmune diseases such as juvenile diabetes, MS, and RA.

The prize committee added, "These discoveries have laid the foundation for a new field of investigation and spurred the development of innovative therapies, for instance for cancer and autoimmune diseases."

Regarding malignancies, regulatory T-cells block the body from attacking the tumor, so research are focused on reducing their quantity.

In autoimmune diseases, trials are exploring boosting T-reg cells so the organism is no longer under attack. A similar approach could also be effective in minimizing the risks of organ transplant rejection.

Innovative Studies

Professor Sakaguchi, from a Japanese institution, conducted tests on mice that had their immune gland extracted, causing self-attack conditions.

The researcher showed that injecting immune cells from healthy mice could prevent the disease—suggesting there was a mechanism for preventing immune cells from attacking the host.

Mary Brunkow, from the Institute for Systems Biology in Seattle, and Dr. Ramsdell, currently at a biotech firm in San Francisco, were investigating an inherited autoimmune disease in rodents and people that resulted in the discovery of a gene vital for the way T-regs function.

"Their groundbreaking research has uncovered how the immune system is controlled by T-reg cells, stopping it from accidentally targeting the healthy cells," commented a prominent biological science specialist.

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