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The prestigious award in Physiology or Medicine has been granted for transformative discoveries that clarify how the immune system targets harmful infections while protecting the healthy tissues.

Three esteemed scientists—Japan's Shimon Sakaguchi and American scientists Dr. Brunkow and Dr. Ramsdell—received this accolade.

The work identified specialized "sentinels" within the defense system that remove malfunctioning defense cells capable of attacking the body.

The findings are now enabling new treatments for autoimmune diseases and cancer.

These laureates will share a monetary award valued at 11 million Swedish kronor.

Crucial Discoveries

"The research has been essential for understanding how the immune system operates and why we don't all develop serious autoimmune diseases," stated the head of the award panel.

This team's research address a fundamental question: How does the immune system defend us from numerous invaders while keeping our healthy cells unharmed?

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

Such defenders utilize sensors—called recognition units—that are generated by chance in countless variations.

This gives the immune system the capacity to fight a broad range of threats, but the unpredictability of the process unavoidably produces immune cells that can attack the host.

Security Guards of the Body

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

This year's Nobel Prize recognizes the identification of T-reg cells—described as the immune system's "security guards"—which patrol the body to disarm any defenders that assault the body's own tissues.

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

The prize committee stated, "These discoveries have laid the foundation for a new field of research and spurred the development of innovative therapies, for example for cancer and immune disorders."

Regarding cancer, T-regs prevent the body from attacking the tumor, so research are aimed at reducing their quantity.

In autoimmune diseases, experiments are testing increasing regulatory T-cells so the body is not being harmed. A similar approach could also be effective in minimizing the chances of transplanted organ failure.

Pioneering Experiments

Prof Sakaguchi, of a Japanese institution, conducted experiments on rodents that had their immune gland extracted, causing autoimmune disease.

The researcher demonstrated that injecting immune cells from other animals could prevent the illness—suggesting there was a mechanism for blocking immune cells from attacking the body.

Dr. Brunkow, from the a research center in a US city, and Dr. Ramsdell, currently at a biotech firm in San Francisco, were investigating an inherited autoimmune disease in mice and people that led to the discovery of a gene critical for the way regulatory T-cells function.

"Their pioneering work has uncovered how the body's defenses is kept in check by regulatory T cells, preventing it from mistakenly targeting the healthy cells," said a prominent physiology specialist.

"The research is a striking illustration of how basic physiological research can have far-reaching consequences for human health."