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The Nobel Prize in medical science has been awarded for revolutionary findings that illuminate how the immune system attacks dangerous infections while protecting the healthy tissues.

A trio of esteemed researchers—from Japan Shimon Sakaguchi and US experts Dr. Brunkow and Dr. Ramsdell—received this accolade.

Their work identified unique "sentinels" within the immune system that eliminate malfunctioning immune cells capable of harming the body.

These findings are now enabling innovative treatments for immune disorders and malignancies.

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

Crucial Discoveries

"Their work has been essential for understanding how the immune system operates and why we do not all suffer from serious self-attack conditions," commented the head of the award panel.

This team's studies address a fundamental mystery: How does the immune system defend us from countless infections while leaving our own tissues unharmed?

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

Such cells employ sensors—called receptors—that are generated by chance in countless variations.

That gives the immune system the ability to fight a wide array of invaders, but the unpredictability of the process unavoidably produces immune cells that can target the host.

Security Guards of the Body

Scientists earlier understood that a portion of these problematic defense cells were destroyed in the immune organ—the site where immune cells develop.

The latest Nobel Prize honors the discovery of regulatory T-cells—described as the body's "security guards"—which travel through the system to neutralize any defenders that assault the body's own tissues.

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

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

In cancer, T-regs block the body from fighting the tumor, so studies are aimed at lowering their quantity.

In autoimmune diseases, trials are testing increasing T-reg cells so the organism is not being harmed. A comparable approach could also be useful in reducing the chances of transplanted organ failure.

Innovative Studies

Prof Sakaguchi, of a Japanese institution, performed tests on rodents that had their thymus removed, causing autoimmune disease.

He showed that introducing defense cells from healthy animals could prevent the illness—suggesting there was a system for blocking defenders from attacking the body.

Mary Brunkow, from the a research center in a US city, and Dr. Ramsdell, currently at Sonoma Biotherapeutics in San Francisco, were studying an genetic autoimmune disease in mice and people that resulted in the identification of a gene vital for how T-regs function.

"Their pioneering work has uncovered how the body's defenses is controlled by regulatory T cells, stopping it from mistakenly targeting the healthy cells," commented a prominent physiology expert.

"This work is a remarkable example of how basic physiological study can have far-reaching implications for public health."