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This year's Nobel Prize in medical science was awarded for revolutionary discoveries that clarify how the immune system attacks dangerous pathogens while protecting the body's own cells.

A trio of esteemed scientists—Japan's Prof. Sakaguchi and American experts Mary Brunkow and Fred Ramsdell—received this honor.

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

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

The winners will share a prize fund valued at 11 million Swedish kronor.

Decisive Findings

"The research has been essential for comprehending how the body's defenses operates and why we do not all suffer from serious autoimmune diseases," stated the head of the Nobel Committee.

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

Our body's protection system uses immune cells that scan for indicators of disease, even viruses and bacteria it has not met before.

These cells employ sensors—known as receptors—that are generated by chance in a vast number of combinations.

That provides the defense network the ability to combat a wide array of invaders, but the unpredictability of the process inevitably creates white blood cells that may attack the body.

Security Guards of the Body

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

The latest award honors the discovery of T-reg cells—described as the body's "security guards"—which travel through the system to disarm any defenders that attack the healthy cells.

We know that this mechanism malfunctions in autoimmune diseases such as type-1 diabetes, MS, and RA.

A Nobel panel stated, "The findings have established a new field of investigation and spurred the creation of innovative treatments, for instance for tumors and autoimmune diseases."

Regarding cancer, regulatory T-cells prevent the system from attacking the growth, so research are aimed at reducing their numbers.

In autoimmune diseases, experiments are exploring increasing T-reg cells so the organism is not under attack. A similar method could also be effective in reducing the chances of organ transplant failure.

Innovative Studies

Professor Sakaguchi, from a Japanese institution, performed tests on mice that had their thymus extracted, causing self-attack conditions.

The researcher demonstrated that injecting immune cells from other animals could stop the disease—implying there was a mechanism for blocking immune cells from attacking the host.

Mary Brunkow, affiliated with the Institute for Systems Biology in a US city, and Fred Ramsdell, currently at a biotech firm in a California city, were investigating an inherited immune disorder in mice and people that resulted in the discovery of a gene critical for how regulatory T-cells operate.

"The pioneering work has uncovered how the immune system is controlled by regulatory T cells, stopping it from accidentally targeting the healthy cells," said a leading physiology expert.

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