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The Nobel Prize in medical science has been granted for transformative discoveries that clarify how the immune system targets dangerous pathogens while protecting the body's own cells.

Three renowned scientists—Japan's Prof. Sakaguchi and US scientists Dr. Brunkow and Dr. Ramsdell—received this accolade.

Their research uncovered unique "security guards" within the immune system that eliminate malfunctioning immune cells capable of attacking the body.

These findings are now enabling new therapies for autoimmune diseases and cancer.

These winners will divide a monetary award valued at 11 million SEK.

Crucial Discoveries

"Their research has been decisive for understanding how the body's defenses functions and the reason we don't all develop serious autoimmune diseases," commented the head of the award panel.

This trio's research explain a core question: How does the defense system defend us from numerous invaders while keeping our own tissues intact?

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

Such cells employ detectors—known as receptors—that are generated by chance in countless combinations.

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

Security Guards of the Immune System

Scientists previously knew that some of these harmful defense cells were destroyed in the thymus—the site where immune cells mature.

The latest Nobel Prize recognizes the discovery of T-reg cells—known as the immune system's "security guards"—which patrol the system to disarm other defenders that assault the healthy cells.

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

The prize committee added, "These discoveries have established a novel area of investigation and accelerated the creation of innovative therapies, for example for tumors and autoimmune diseases."

In cancer, T-regs prevent the body from attacking the growth, so studies are focused on lowering their quantity.

In self-attack disorders, experiments are testing increasing regulatory T-cells so the body is no longer being harmed. A similar approach could also be useful in minimizing the risks of transplanted organ failure.

Innovative Studies

Professor Shimon Sakaguchi, of Osaka University, conducted experiments on mice that had their thymus removed, leading to autoimmune disease.

He showed that injecting defense cells from healthy mice could prevent the illness—implying there was a mechanism for preventing immune cells from attacking the host.

Mary Brunkow, from the a research center in a US city, and Dr. Ramsdell, currently at a biotech firm in a California city, were studying an inherited autoimmune disease in mice and people that led to the identification of a gene critical for the way T-regs operate.

"Their pioneering research has uncovered how the immune system is kept in check by T-reg cells, stopping it from mistakenly targeting the body's own tissues," commented a prominent physiology expert.

"This research is a striking example of how basic physiological study can have broad consequences for human health."