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

Three esteemed scientists—from Japan Shimon Sakaguchi and US scientists 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 attacking the body.

These discoveries are now paving the way for innovative therapies for immune disorders and malignancies.

These laureates will divide a monetary award valued at 11m Swedish kronor.

Decisive Findings

"The work has been essential for understanding how the body's defenses operates and the reason we don't all suffer from serious autoimmune diseases," commented the head of the award panel.

The trio's studies explain a core mystery: How does the immune system protect us from countless invaders while keeping our healthy cells intact?

The immune system employs white blood cells that scan for signs of disease, including viruses and bacteria it has never encountered.

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

That gives the immune system the capacity to combat a wide array of threats, but the unpredictability of the mechanism inevitably produces white blood cells that may target the host.

Protectors of the Body

Researchers earlier knew that some of these problematic defense cells were destroyed in the immune organ—where white blood cells mature.

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

We know that this process fails in self-attack conditions such as juvenile diabetes, MS, and rheumatoid arthritis.

The Nobel panel stated, "These findings have established a novel area of investigation and accelerated the creation of new therapies, for example for cancer and autoimmune diseases."

In cancer, T-regs block the system from fighting the growth, so research are aimed at lowering their quantity.

For self-attack disorders, trials are testing boosting T-reg cells so the organism is not being harmed. A similar method could also be useful in reducing the risks of transplanted organ rejection.

Pioneering Studies

Professor Sakaguchi, of Osaka University, performed experiments on rodents that had their immune gland removed, causing self-attack conditions.

He showed that injecting immune cells from healthy mice could stop the illness—implying there was a mechanism for blocking defenders from harming the host.

Dr. Brunkow, from the Institute for Systems Biology in Seattle, and Fred Ramsdell, now at a biotech firm in a California city, were investigating an inherited immune disorder in rodents and humans that resulted in the discovery of a genetic factor vital for the way regulatory T-cells function.

"Their pioneering research has revealed how the body's defenses is kept in check by T-reg cells, stopping it from mistakenly attacking the body's own tissues," said a leading biological science specialist.

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