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The Nobel Prize in medical science was awarded for revolutionary findings that illuminate how the body's defense network attacks dangerous infections while sparing the body's own cells.

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

The work identified unique "sentinels" within the immune system that eliminate malfunctioning immune cells that could harming the body.

The discoveries are now paving the way for innovative therapies for autoimmune diseases and malignancies.

The laureates will divide a prize fund valued at 11 million Swedish kronor.

Decisive Findings

"Their research has been decisive for understanding how the body's defenses operates and why we don't all suffer from severe autoimmune diseases," commented the head of the award panel.

This trio's research address a fundamental mystery: How does the defense system protect us from numerous invaders while keeping our healthy cells intact?

Our immune system uses white blood cells that scan for signs of disease, even viruses and germs it has not met before.

Such cells employ detectors—called recognition units—that are produced randomly in countless variations.

That provides the immune system the capacity to fight a wide array of threats, but the randomness of the process unavoidably produces white blood cells that may target the host.

Protectors of the Body

Scientists previously knew that a portion of these problematic defense cells were destroyed in the thymus—where white blood cells mature.

This year's Nobel Prize recognizes the identification of regulatory T-cells—known as the body's "peacekeepers"—which travel through the body to disarm any immune cells that attack 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, "The discoveries have laid the foundation for a new field of research and accelerated the creation of new treatments, for example for tumors and immune disorders."

In cancer, regulatory T-cells block the body from fighting the growth, so studies are focused on lowering their quantity.

For autoimmune diseases, trials are exploring increasing T-reg cells so the body is no longer being harmed. A comparable method could also be useful in minimizing the risks of organ transplant failure.

Innovative Experiments

Prof Sakaguchi, from Osaka University, performed experiments on rodents that had their immune gland extracted, causing self-attack conditions.

He demonstrated that introducing immune cells from other mice could stop the disease—suggesting there was a system for blocking defenders from harming the body.

Dr. 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 mice and people that resulted in the identification of a genetic factor critical for how T-regs function.

"The groundbreaking work has uncovered how the immune system is controlled by regulatory T cells, stopping it from mistakenly attacking the healthy cells," commented a prominent physiology expert.

"The work is a striking example of how fundamental physiological study can have far-reaching implications for human health."