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The prestigious award in medical science was granted for transformative discoveries that clarify how the body's defense network targets harmful pathogens while protecting the body's own cells.

A trio of esteemed researchers—from Japan Prof. Sakaguchi and US scientists Mary Brunkow and Fred Ramsdell—share this honor.

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

The findings are now paving the way for new therapies for autoimmune diseases and cancer.

The winners will share a monetary award valued at 11m SEK.

Crucial Discoveries

"The research has been essential for comprehending how the immune system operates and why we do not all develop severe self-attack conditions," commented the head of the Nobel Committee.

This team's studies explain a core question: In what way does the defense system defend us from countless infections while leaving our own tissues unharmed?

The immune system employs white blood cells that search for signs of infection, even pathogens and bacteria it has not met before.

Such defenders utilize detectors—known as recognition units—that are generated by chance in countless variations.

That gives the defense network the ability to combat a broad range of threats, but the randomness of the process unavoidably produces white blood cells that may attack the body.

Security Guards of the Immune System

Researchers previously knew that a portion of these problematic white blood cells were eliminated in the immune organ—the site where white blood cells mature.

The latest award honors the identification of T-reg cells—known as the immune system's "peacekeepers"—which patrol the body to disarm other immune cells that attack the healthy cells.

It is known that this mechanism fails in autoimmune diseases such as juvenile diabetes, multiple sclerosis, and rheumatoid arthritis.

A Nobel panel stated, "These discoveries have established a novel area of investigation and spurred the creation of new treatments, for example for tumors and immune disorders."

In malignancies, T-regs prevent the system from fighting the growth, so studies are aimed at reducing their quantity.

For autoimmune diseases, experiments are exploring increasing T-reg cells so the organism is not being harmed. A similar approach could also be useful in minimizing the chances of transplanted organ failure.

Pioneering Experiments

Prof Shimon Sakaguchi, from Osaka University, performed experiments on mice that had their thymus extracted, leading to self-attack conditions.

He showed that introducing immune cells from other mice could stop the disease—implying there was a system for preventing immune cells from harming the host.

Dr. Brunkow, from the a research center in a US city, and Dr. Ramsdell, now at a biotech firm in San Francisco, were investigating an inherited autoimmune disease in rodents and humans that resulted in the discovery of a genetic factor vital for how T-regs operate.

"The pioneering research has uncovered how the body's defenses is controlled by regulatory T cells, stopping it from mistakenly targeting the healthy cells," said a leading biological science specialist.

"This work is a striking illustration of how basic physiological research can have far-reaching consequences for public health."