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The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was granted for revolutionary findings that clarify how the body's defense network targets harmful pathogens while protecting the healthy tissues.

A trio of renowned scientists—Japan's Prof. Sakaguchi and US experts Dr. Brunkow and Fred Ramsdell—share this honor.

Their work uncovered specialized "sentinels" within the immune system that remove malfunctioning immune cells that could attacking the body.

These findings are now enabling new therapies for immune disorders and malignancies.

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

Crucial Findings

"Their research has been decisive for comprehending how the immune system functions and why we do not all develop severe self-attack conditions," commented the head of the award panel.

This trio's research explain a core question: How does the immune system defend us from countless infections while keeping our own tissues unharmed?

The body's protection system uses immune cells that search for indicators of infection, even pathogens and bacteria it has not met before.

Such defenders utilize detectors—called recognition units—that are generated by chance in countless variations.

That gives the defense network the capacity to combat a wide array of invaders, but the unpredictability of the process inevitably creates white blood cells that can target the host.

Protectors of the Body

Researchers previously understood that a portion of these harmful white blood cells were eliminated in the thymus—where immune cells develop.

This year's award honors the identification of T-reg cells—known as the body's "peacekeepers"—which travel through the body to neutralize other defenders that attack the body's own tissues.

We know that this process fails in self-attack conditions such as type-1 diabetes, MS, and rheumatoid arthritis.

A prize committee added, "The discoveries have laid the foundation for a new field of research and accelerated the creation of innovative treatments, for example for cancer and immune disorders."

In malignancies, T-regs prevent the body from fighting the growth, so research are aimed at lowering their numbers.

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

Pioneering Experiments

Prof Sakaguchi, from Osaka University, conducted tests on rodents that had their thymus removed, causing autoimmune disease.

The researcher demonstrated that introducing immune cells from healthy animals could prevent the disease—implying there was a mechanism for preventing immune cells from attacking the host.

Dr. Brunkow, affiliated with the Institute for Systems Biology in Seattle, and Dr. Ramsdell, now at a biotech firm in a California city, were investigating an inherited immune disorder in mice and people that resulted in the discovery of a genetic factor vital for the way T-regs function.

"The groundbreaking research has revealed how the body's defenses is kept in check by regulatory T cells, stopping it from accidentally targeting the healthy cells," said a prominent physiology specialist.

"This work is a remarkable example of how fundamental physiological research can have broad consequences for public health."