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The prestigious award in medical science has been granted for transformative discoveries that illuminate how the body's defense network targets harmful infections while sparing the healthy tissues.

Three esteemed scientists—Japan's Prof. Sakaguchi and American scientists Dr. Brunkow and Fred Ramsdell—share this accolade.

The work uncovered unique "sentinels" within the defense system that eliminate rogue defense cells that could harming the organism.

These discoveries are now paving the way for new therapies for autoimmune diseases and cancer.

The laureates will share a monetary award valued at 11m Swedish kronor.

Decisive Findings

"Their research has been decisive for comprehending how the immune system functions and why we don't all suffer from serious autoimmune diseases," stated the head of the Nobel Committee.

This team's studies address a core question: How does the immune system protect us from numerous invaders while keeping our own tissues intact?

Our body's protection system employs white blood cells that scan for indicators of infection, even viruses and germs it has never encountered.

Such cells utilize detectors—called recognition units—that are produced by chance in countless combinations.

That gives the defense network the capacity to combat a broad range of invaders, but the unpredictability of the process inevitably creates immune cells that can target the host.

Security Guards of the Body

Scientists previously understood that some of these problematic defense cells were eliminated in the immune organ—the site where immune cells develop.

The latest Nobel Prize honors the identification of T-reg cells—described as the body's "security guards"—which patrol the system to disarm other immune cells that attack the body's own tissues.

It is known that this process malfunctions in autoimmune diseases such as juvenile diabetes, MS, and rheumatoid arthritis.

The Nobel panel stated, "The discoveries have established a new field of investigation and accelerated the creation of innovative treatments, for example for cancer and immune disorders."

In cancer, regulatory T-cells prevent the body from fighting the tumor, so research are focused on reducing their quantity.

In autoimmune diseases, experiments are exploring boosting T-reg cells so the organism is no longer being harmed. A similar approach could also be useful in minimizing the chances of transplanted organ failure.

Pioneering Studies

Professor Shimon Sakaguchi, from a Japanese institution, performed experiments on rodents that had their immune gland extracted, leading to self-attack conditions.

The researcher showed that introducing defense cells from other animals could stop the disease—implying there was a system for preventing immune cells from harming the body.

Mary Brunkow, from the Institute for Systems Biology in Seattle, and Dr. Ramsdell, currently at a biotech firm in a California city, were investigating an inherited autoimmune disease in rodents and people that resulted in the discovery of a gene vital for how regulatory T-cells operate.

"Their pioneering work has uncovered how the immune system is controlled by regulatory T cells, stopping it from mistakenly targeting the healthy cells," said a prominent biological science expert.

"This work is a remarkable example of how fundamental physiological study can have broad implications for human health."