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The prestigious award in Physiology or Medicine has been granted for transformative findings that clarify how the immune system attacks harmful infections while protecting the healthy tissues.

Three esteemed scientists—from Japan Prof. Sakaguchi and US scientists Mary Brunkow and Dr. Ramsdell—share this honor.

Their work uncovered unique "sentinels" within the immune system that eliminate malfunctioning immune cells capable of attacking the organism.

These findings are now paving the way for innovative treatments for autoimmune diseases and cancer.

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

Crucial Discoveries

"Their research has been essential for comprehending how the body's defenses operates and why we don't all develop serious self-attack conditions," stated the head of the award panel.

This trio's research address a core question: In what way does the immune system protect us from countless infections while leaving our own tissues unharmed?

The immune system employs white blood cells that search for signs of disease, even pathogens and bacteria it has not met before.

These cells employ detectors—called recognition units—that are generated randomly in countless combinations.

That gives the defense network the ability to combat a wide array of threats, but the unpredictability of the process unavoidably produces immune cells that can target the host.

Protectors of the Immune System

Scientists previously understood that a portion of these problematic white blood cells were destroyed in the immune organ—where white blood cells develop.

This year's award honors the discovery of T-reg cells—known as the immune system's "peacekeepers"—which travel through the system to disarm other defenders that attack the healthy cells.

We know that this process fails in self-attack conditions such as juvenile diabetes, multiple sclerosis, and RA.

A prize committee added, "These discoveries have established a new field of research and accelerated the development of new treatments, for instance for cancer and autoimmune diseases."

In malignancies, regulatory T-cells prevent the body from fighting the tumor, so studies are aimed at reducing their quantity.

For self-attack disorders, experiments are testing increasing T-reg cells so the body is no longer under attack. A comparable approach could also be useful in minimizing the risks of organ transplant failure.

Pioneering Experiments

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

He showed that introducing defense cells from other animals could prevent the disease—implying there was a mechanism for blocking defenders from attacking the body.

Mary Brunkow, from the a research center in Seattle, and Dr. Ramsdell, now at Sonoma Biotherapeutics in San Francisco, were studying an inherited autoimmune disease in rodents and people that resulted in the discovery of a gene vital for the way regulatory T-cells operate.

"The pioneering research has revealed how the body's defenses is controlled by regulatory T cells, stopping it from mistakenly attacking the healthy cells," said a prominent biological science expert.

"The work is a remarkable illustration of how basic physiological research can have far-reaching implications for human health."