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The Nobel Prize in medical science has been awarded for transformative discoveries that clarify how the body's defense network targets dangerous infections while protecting the healthy tissues.

Three esteemed researchers—from Japan Shimon Sakaguchi and US experts Mary Brunkow and Dr. Ramsdell—share this honor.

Their research uncovered specialized "security guards" within the immune system that eliminate rogue defense cells capable of harming the body.

The discoveries are now paving the way for new treatments for immune disorders and cancer.

These winners will divide a prize fund valued at 11 million SEK.

Crucial Discoveries

"The work has been decisive for comprehending how the immune system functions and the reason we don't all develop severe self-attack conditions," stated the chair of the Nobel Committee.

The team's studies explain a fundamental question: In what way does the immune system protect us from countless infections while keeping our own tissues intact?

Our immune system employs white blood cells that scan for indicators of disease, even pathogens and germs it has not met before.

These cells employ detectors—called receptors—that are generated by chance in countless variations.

That gives the immune system the ability to combat a wide array of threats, but the unpredictability of the process unavoidably creates immune cells that may attack the host.

Security Guards of the Immune System

Scientists earlier understood that some of these problematic white blood cells were destroyed in the immune organ—where white blood cells mature.

This year's award honors the discovery of regulatory T-cells—described as the immune system's "security guards"—which patrol the body to neutralize any defenders that attack the body's own tissues.

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

The prize committee stated, "These findings have laid the foundation for a novel area of investigation and accelerated the creation of new therapies, for instance for tumors and immune disorders."

Regarding cancer, T-regs block the system from attacking the tumor, so studies are focused on reducing their quantity.

In autoimmune diseases, experiments are exploring boosting regulatory T-cells so the organism is not being harmed. A comparable approach could also be effective in reducing the risks of transplanted organ rejection.

Pioneering Studies

Prof Sakaguchi, from a Japanese institution, performed experiments on rodents that had their immune gland removed, leading to self-attack conditions.

The researcher showed that introducing immune cells from other animals could stop the disease—suggesting there was a system for blocking immune cells from harming the host.

Dr. Brunkow, affiliated with the Institute for Systems Biology in Seattle, and Fred Ramsdell, now at a biotech firm in a California city, were studying an inherited immune disorder in mice and people that resulted in the discovery of a gene vital for the way regulatory T-cells operate.

"Their groundbreaking research has revealed how the immune system is controlled by regulatory T cells, preventing it from mistakenly attacking the healthy cells," said a prominent physiology specialist.

"The work is a remarkable example of how basic biological research can have broad implications for human health."