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This year's prestigious award in Physiology or Medicine has been awarded for transformative findings that clarify how the immune system targets dangerous infections while protecting the healthy tissues.

Three esteemed scientists—from Japan Prof. Sakaguchi and American scientists Dr. Brunkow and Dr. Ramsdell—received this honor.

Their work identified unique "security guards" within the immune system that eliminate malfunctioning immune cells that could attacking the body.

These findings are now paving the way for new treatments for immune disorders and malignancies.

The winners will divide a prize fund worth 11m Swedish kronor.

Decisive Findings

"Their work has been decisive for understanding how the immune system functions and the reason we don't all suffer from severe autoimmune diseases," stated the chair of the award panel.

The team's research address a fundamental question: How does the immune system protect us from numerous infections while leaving our healthy cells intact?

The immune system employs immune cells that scan for indicators of infection, including pathogens and germs it has never encountered.

Such cells employ sensors—known as receptors—that are generated by chance in a vast number of variations.

That gives the immune system the ability to combat a wide array of invaders, but the unpredictability of the process inevitably creates white blood cells that can attack the body.

Protectors of the Body

Researchers earlier knew that some of these harmful defense cells were eliminated in the thymus—where white blood cells develop.

The latest Nobel Prize honors the discovery of regulatory T-cells—known as the immune system's "peacekeepers"—which patrol the body to disarm other defenders that assault the body's own tissues.

It is known that this mechanism malfunctions in autoimmune diseases such as type-1 diabetes, multiple sclerosis, and RA.

A prize committee stated, "The findings have established a new field of investigation and spurred the creation of new treatments, for instance for cancer and autoimmune diseases."

Regarding cancer, regulatory T-cells prevent the body from fighting the tumor, so studies are aimed at reducing their quantity.

For autoimmune diseases, trials are testing increasing T-reg cells so the body is not being harmed. A similar approach could also be useful in reducing the chances of organ transplant rejection.

Pioneering Studies

Professor Sakaguchi, from a Japanese institution, performed tests on rodents that had their immune gland extracted, leading to self-attack conditions.

He showed that injecting immune cells from healthy animals could stop the disease—implying there was a system for blocking defenders from harming the host.

Dr. Brunkow, from the Institute for Systems Biology in a US city, and Fred Ramsdell, now at a biotech firm in a California city, were studying an genetic immune disorder in rodents and people that led to the identification of a genetic factor vital for how T-regs function.

"The pioneering work has uncovered how the immune system is controlled by T-reg cells, preventing it from mistakenly targeting the healthy cells," said a prominent physiology specialist.

"The research is a remarkable illustration of how fundamental physiological study can have far-reaching consequences for human health."