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The prestigious award in Physiology or Medicine has been awarded for transformative findings that illuminate how the body's defense network attacks harmful pathogens while sparing the healthy tissues.

A trio of renowned researchers—Japan's Shimon Sakaguchi and US scientists Mary Brunkow and Fred Ramsdell—share this honor.

Their work uncovered specialized "security guards" within the immune system that remove rogue defense cells that could harming the organism.

The findings are now paving the way for new therapies for immune disorders and malignancies.

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

Crucial Discoveries

"The research has been essential for comprehending how the immune system functions and the reason we do not all suffer from severe self-attack conditions," stated the chair of the Nobel Committee.

The trio's research address a fundamental question: In what way does the defense system defend us from numerous invaders while leaving our healthy cells unharmed?

Our body's protection system uses white blood cells that scan for signs of infection, even viruses and germs it has not met before.

Such defenders employ detectors—called recognition units—that are generated by chance in countless combinations.

This gives the defense network the capacity to combat a broad range of threats, but the unpredictability of the process unavoidably produces white blood cells that can attack the host.

Protectors of the Body

Scientists earlier understood that a portion of these harmful defense cells were eliminated in the thymus—where white blood cells develop.

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

We know that this mechanism malfunctions in autoimmune diseases such as type-1 diabetes, multiple sclerosis, and RA.

A prize committee stated, "The findings have laid the foundation for a novel area of investigation and accelerated the development of innovative treatments, for example for cancer and immune disorders."

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

In autoimmune diseases, trials are exploring boosting T-reg cells so the organism is not under attack. A similar method could also be useful in reducing the risks of organ transplant failure.

Pioneering Studies

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

He showed that injecting defense cells from healthy animals could stop the disease—implying there was a system for preventing immune cells from harming the body.

Mary Brunkow, affiliated with the Institute for Systems Biology in Seattle, and Fred Ramsdell, currently at Sonoma Biotherapeutics in a California city, were studying an inherited immune disorder in mice and humans that led to the discovery of a gene vital for how regulatory T-cells function.

"The pioneering work has uncovered how the body's defenses is kept in check by T-reg cells, preventing it from mistakenly attacking the body's own tissues," commented a leading biological science expert.

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