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

Three esteemed researchers—Japan's Shimon Sakaguchi and American scientists Dr. Brunkow and Dr. Ramsdell—share this honor.

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

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

These winners will share a monetary award worth 11 million Swedish kronor.

Decisive Discoveries

"The research has been decisive for understanding how the body's defenses functions and the reason we do not all suffer from serious self-attack conditions," stated the chair of the Nobel Committee.

This trio's studies explain a core mystery: How does the immune system protect us from numerous invaders while keeping our healthy cells intact?

The immune system uses immune cells that search for indicators of infection, even viruses and germs it has not met before.

These cells utilize sensors—called recognition units—that are generated randomly in a vast number of combinations.

This provides the immune system the ability to fight a broad range of invaders, but the randomness of the mechanism unavoidably produces immune cells that can attack the body.

Protectors of the Immune System

Researchers earlier knew that a portion of these problematic white blood cells were eliminated in the thymus—where white blood cells mature.

This year's award recognizes the discovery of T-reg cells—described as the immune system's "peacekeepers"—which patrol the system to neutralize other immune cells that attack the healthy cells.

We know that this process fails in autoimmune diseases such as juvenile diabetes, multiple sclerosis, and RA.

A Nobel panel added, "These findings have laid the foundation for a new field of investigation and spurred the creation of innovative treatments, for instance for cancer and autoimmune diseases."

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

In autoimmune diseases, experiments are exploring boosting T-reg cells so the organism is not under attack. A comparable approach could also be useful in reducing the chances of transplanted organ failure.

Innovative Experiments

Prof Sakaguchi, from a Japanese institution, performed experiments on mice that had their thymus extracted, causing self-attack conditions.

He showed that injecting immune cells from other animals could prevent the disease—suggesting there was a mechanism for preventing defenders from attacking the body.

Dr. Brunkow, affiliated with the a research center in Seattle, and Fred Ramsdell, currently at a biotech firm in a California city, were investigating an inherited immune disorder in rodents and humans that led to the discovery of a gene critical for the way T-regs operate.

"Their groundbreaking work has revealed how the body's defenses is kept in check by T-reg cells, preventing it from mistakenly targeting the healthy cells," commented a prominent physiology expert.

"This research is a remarkable example of how basic biological study can have far-reaching consequences for human health."