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The Nobel Prize in medical science has been awarded for revolutionary findings that illuminate how the body's defense network attacks harmful pathogens while protecting the healthy tissues.

A trio of esteemed researchers—Japan's Prof. Sakaguchi and American scientists Dr. Brunkow and Fred Ramsdell—share this honor.

Their research identified specialized "sentinels" within the immune system that remove rogue immune cells capable of harming the organism.

The findings are now enabling innovative treatments for autoimmune diseases and cancer.

These laureates will share a monetary award valued at 11 million SEK.

Crucial Findings

"Their research has been essential for understanding how the body's defenses functions and why we don't all develop severe autoimmune diseases," commented the head of the award panel.

This trio's studies explain a fundamental question: In what way does the immune system defend us from numerous infections while leaving our own tissues unharmed?

The body's protection system employs white blood cells that scan for signs of disease, including viruses and germs it has never encountered.

These defenders employ sensors—called receptors—that are generated randomly in a vast number of variations.

That gives the defense network the ability to combat a broad range of invaders, but the randomness of the process unavoidably produces immune cells that may attack the body.

Protectors of the Immune System

Scientists earlier understood that some of these problematic white blood cells were eliminated in the thymus—where immune cells mature.

The latest award honors the discovery of regulatory T-cells—described as the immune system's "peacekeepers"—which patrol the system to disarm any defenders that assault the healthy cells.

It is known that this process malfunctions in self-attack conditions such as juvenile diabetes, multiple sclerosis, and rheumatoid arthritis.

A Nobel panel added, "These findings have laid the foundation for a new field of research and accelerated the creation of new treatments, for instance for tumors and immune disorders."

Regarding malignancies, regulatory T-cells block the body from attacking the tumor, so research are focused on lowering their quantity.

For self-attack disorders, experiments are testing increasing regulatory T-cells so the body is not being harmed. A similar method could also be useful in minimizing the chances of organ transplant rejection.

Innovative Experiments

Prof Sakaguchi, of Osaka University, performed experiments on rodents that had their immune gland removed, causing self-attack conditions.

The researcher demonstrated that introducing defense cells from healthy animals could stop the illness—implying there was a system for blocking defenders from harming the body.

Dr. Brunkow, from the Institute for Systems Biology in a US city, and Dr. Ramsdell, currently at a biotech firm in a California city, were investigating an genetic autoimmune disease in mice and humans that led to the identification of a gene critical for how regulatory T-cells operate.

"Their groundbreaking research has revealed how the body's defenses is kept in check by regulatory T cells, stopping it from mistakenly attacking the healthy cells," commented a leading physiology expert.

"This research is a striking illustration of how fundamental biological research can have broad consequences for public health."