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The prestigious award in medical science was awarded for revolutionary discoveries that illuminate how the body's defense network attacks dangerous pathogens while sparing the healthy tissues.

A trio of esteemed researchers—Japan's Prof. Sakaguchi and American experts Dr. Brunkow and Dr. Ramsdell—received this accolade.

The research identified specialized "security guards" within the immune system that remove rogue defense cells that could harming the body.

The findings are now enabling new therapies for autoimmune diseases and cancer.

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

Decisive Discoveries

"The work has been decisive for understanding how the immune system operates and why we don't all suffer from severe self-attack conditions," commented the chair of the Nobel Committee.

This team's research explain a fundamental mystery: How does the immune system defend us from countless infections while keeping our healthy cells unharmed?

The immune system employs white blood cells that scan for signs of infection, even pathogens and bacteria it has never encountered.

These defenders employ detectors—called receptors—that are produced by chance in a vast number of combinations.

That gives the immune system the capacity to combat a broad range of threats, but the unpredictability of the process inevitably produces white blood cells that may attack the body.

Security Guards of the Body

Scientists earlier knew that a portion of these problematic white blood cells were eliminated in the immune organ—the site where white blood cells mature.

This year's award recognizes the identification of regulatory T-cells—described as the immune system's "peacekeepers"—which travel through the body to neutralize any defenders that assault the healthy cells.

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

The Nobel panel added, "The findings have established a novel area of investigation and accelerated the creation of innovative treatments, for example for cancer and autoimmune diseases."

In malignancies, regulatory T-cells prevent the system from fighting the growth, so research are aimed at lowering their quantity.

For self-attack disorders, experiments are exploring increasing T-reg cells so the body is not being harmed. A similar approach could also be effective in minimizing the chances of transplanted organ rejection.

Innovative Experiments

Prof Shimon Sakaguchi, of Osaka University, conducted tests on mice that had their thymus removed, leading to autoimmune disease.

The researcher demonstrated that injecting immune cells from healthy mice could prevent the illness—implying there was a system for blocking immune cells from harming the body.

Mary Brunkow, affiliated with the Institute for Systems Biology in a US city, and Fred Ramsdell, currently at a biotech firm in a California city, were studying an genetic immune disorder in rodents and people that resulted in the identification of a genetic factor vital for how regulatory T-cells operate.

"The pioneering research has revealed how the body's defenses is controlled by regulatory T cells, stopping it from accidentally targeting the healthy cells," commented a leading biological science specialist.

"This work is a remarkable example of how fundamental biological research can have far-reaching implications for human health."