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The prestigious award in medical science was granted for revolutionary discoveries that illuminate how the immune system targets dangerous pathogens while protecting the body's own cells.

Three renowned scientists—from Japan Shimon Sakaguchi and American experts Mary Brunkow and Fred Ramsdell—received this accolade.

The research identified unique "sentinels" within the defense system that eliminate malfunctioning defense cells capable of harming the body.

The findings are now enabling new therapies for immune disorders and malignancies.

The laureates will divide a monetary award valued at 11m SEK.

Decisive Findings

"Their work has been essential for comprehending how the immune system functions and why we don't all suffer from serious self-attack conditions," commented the head of the Nobel Committee.

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

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

These cells utilize detectors—known as receptors—that are generated randomly in countless variations.

This provides the defense network the capacity to combat a wide array of invaders, but the randomness of the process unavoidably creates white blood cells that may target the body.

Protectors of the Body

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

This year's award honors the discovery of T-reg cells—described as the body's "peacekeepers"—which patrol the body to neutralize any defenders that assault the body's own tissues.

We know that this process malfunctions in self-attack conditions such as juvenile diabetes, multiple sclerosis, and RA.

The Nobel panel stated, "These findings have laid the foundation for a new field of investigation and accelerated the development of innovative therapies, for instance for cancer and autoimmune diseases."

Regarding malignancies, regulatory T-cells prevent the body from attacking the tumor, so studies are aimed at lowering their quantity.

For autoimmune diseases, experiments are exploring increasing regulatory T-cells so the body is no longer under attack. A similar approach could also be effective in minimizing the chances of organ transplant failure.

Pioneering Studies

Professor Sakaguchi, of a Japanese institution, conducted experiments on mice that had their thymus removed, leading to self-attack conditions.

He showed that introducing defense cells from other animals could prevent the illness—implying there was a system for preventing defenders from attacking the host.

Mary Brunkow, affiliated with the a research center in a US city, and Fred Ramsdell, currently at Sonoma Biotherapeutics in a California city, were studying an inherited autoimmune disease in mice and people that led to the discovery of a genetic factor critical for the way T-regs function.

"The pioneering research has revealed how the immune system is controlled by T-reg cells, stopping it from mistakenly attacking the body's own tissues," commented a prominent biological science specialist.

"This research is a remarkable example of how basic physiological study can have far-reaching consequences for human health."