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This year's Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was granted for revolutionary findings that clarify how the immune system targets harmful pathogens while protecting the healthy tissues.

A trio of esteemed researchers—from Japan Shimon Sakaguchi and American scientists Mary Brunkow and Fred Ramsdell—received this honor.

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

The findings are now paving the way for innovative therapies for autoimmune diseases and cancer.

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

Crucial Findings

"The research has been essential for understanding how the body's defenses operates and the reason we don't all suffer from severe self-attack conditions," commented the head of the Nobel Committee.

The trio's research address a fundamental question: In what way does the defense system protect us from countless infections while leaving our healthy cells intact?

The immune system employs immune cells that scan for indicators of infection, including viruses and bacteria it has never encountered.

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

That provides the immune system the ability to fight a broad range of threats, but the unpredictability of the mechanism unavoidably produces immune cells that may target the host.

Protectors of the Immune System

Scientists previously knew that some of these problematic defense cells were eliminated in the immune organ—the site where immune cells develop.

This year's award honors the discovery of T-reg cells—known as the immune system's "security guards"—which travel through the system to neutralize other defenders that assault the body's own tissues.

We know that this mechanism malfunctions in autoimmune diseases such as juvenile diabetes, MS, and rheumatoid arthritis.

A Nobel panel added, "The discoveries have established a novel area of investigation and spurred the development of innovative treatments, for example for tumors and immune disorders."

In malignancies, regulatory T-cells block the body from fighting the tumor, so research are focused on lowering their numbers.

For autoimmune diseases, trials are testing increasing T-reg cells so the organism is not under attack. A similar approach could also be effective in minimizing the risks of transplanted organ failure.

Innovative Studies

Professor Shimon Sakaguchi, of a Japanese institution, conducted experiments on rodents that had their immune gland extracted, causing self-attack conditions.

The researcher demonstrated that introducing defense cells from other mice could prevent the illness—suggesting there was a mechanism for preventing defenders from attacking the body.

Dr. Brunkow, affiliated with the a research center in a US city, and Fred Ramsdell, currently at Sonoma Biotherapeutics in San Francisco, were studying an genetic autoimmune disease in rodents and people that resulted in the identification of a gene vital for how T-regs function.

"Their groundbreaking research has revealed how the immune system is kept in check by T-reg cells, stopping it from accidentally targeting the healthy cells," commented a leading biological science expert.

"The work is a remarkable illustration of how fundamental biological study can have far-reaching implications for public health."