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This year's prestigious award in medical science was awarded for transformative findings that clarify how the body's defense network attacks dangerous pathogens while sparing the healthy tissues.

Three renowned researchers—Japan's Prof. Sakaguchi and US scientists Mary Brunkow and Fred Ramsdell—received this honor.

The research identified specialized "sentinels" within the defense system that eliminate malfunctioning immune cells that could attacking the organism.

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

The winners will divide a monetary award valued at 11 million SEK.

Crucial Discoveries

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

This team's research address a fundamental question: How does the defense system defend us from countless invaders while keeping our own tissues unharmed?

Our body's protection system uses white blood cells that search for signs of disease, even viruses and germs it has not met before.

These defenders employ sensors—called receptors—that are produced randomly in countless combinations.

This provides the defense network the ability to fight a wide array of invaders, but the unpredictability of the mechanism inevitably produces white blood cells that may attack the host.

Protectors of the Immune System

Scientists previously knew that a portion of these harmful defense cells were destroyed in the thymus—where white blood cells develop.

This year's award honors the identification of T-reg cells—known as the body's "security guards"—which patrol the system to disarm other defenders that attack the body's own tissues.

It is known that this process fails in self-attack conditions such as type-1 diabetes, multiple sclerosis, and RA.

A prize committee added, "These discoveries have laid the foundation for a new field of research and accelerated the creation of new treatments, for example for cancer and immune disorders."

Regarding cancer, regulatory T-cells prevent the body from fighting the growth, so research are aimed at reducing their numbers.

In autoimmune diseases, trials are testing increasing regulatory T-cells so the organism is not being harmed. A similar method could also be effective in reducing the risks of organ transplant failure.

Pioneering Experiments

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

He showed that injecting immune cells from other animals could prevent the disease—implying there was a mechanism for preventing immune cells from attacking the host.

Mary Brunkow, affiliated with the a research center in Seattle, and Dr. Ramsdell, now at Sonoma Biotherapeutics in San Francisco, were investigating an genetic immune disorder in mice and humans that led to the identification of a gene vital for the way regulatory T-cells operate.

"Their pioneering work has uncovered how the body's defenses is kept in check by regulatory T cells, stopping it from mistakenly attacking the healthy cells," commented a prominent physiology specialist.

"The research is a striking example of how basic physiological research can have broad implications for public health."