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The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine has been awarded for revolutionary findings that illuminate how the body's defense network attacks harmful infections while sparing the body's own cells.

A trio of renowned scientists—Japan's Shimon Sakaguchi and American experts Dr. Brunkow and Fred Ramsdell—received this honor.

Their research identified unique "security guards" within the immune system that remove rogue defense cells capable of attacking the body.

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

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

Decisive Findings

"The work has been essential for understanding how the body's defenses functions and the reason we do not all develop serious self-attack conditions," commented the chair of the award panel.

This trio's research address a core mystery: How does the immune system defend us from countless invaders while keeping our own tissues intact?

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

Such defenders utilize detectors—known as receptors—that are generated by chance in countless combinations.

This provides the immune system the capacity to combat a wide array of invaders, but the unpredictability of the process unavoidably produces white blood cells that can target the host.

Protectors of the Immune System

Scientists earlier knew that some of these harmful defense cells were destroyed in the immune organ—where white blood cells mature.

This year's Nobel Prize recognizes the discovery of regulatory T-cells—described as the body's "peacekeepers"—which patrol the system to disarm any immune cells that attack the body's own tissues.

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

A Nobel panel added, "These findings have established a novel area of investigation and accelerated the development of innovative therapies, for example for cancer and immune disorders."

In cancer, regulatory T-cells block the body from attacking the growth, so research are focused on lowering their numbers.

For autoimmune diseases, experiments are exploring boosting regulatory T-cells so the body is no longer under attack. A similar method could also be useful in minimizing the risks of transplanted organ rejection.

Pioneering Experiments

Prof Shimon Sakaguchi, of a Japanese institution, performed experiments on rodents that had their immune gland removed, leading to self-attack conditions.

He demonstrated that injecting immune cells from healthy mice could prevent the illness—implying there was a mechanism for blocking immune cells from harming the host.

Dr. Brunkow, affiliated with the a research center in a US city, and Dr. Ramsdell, currently at a biotech firm in San Francisco, were studying an genetic immune disorder in mice and humans that resulted in the discovery of a gene vital for how regulatory T-cells function.

"The pioneering research has revealed how the body's defenses is kept in check by T-reg cells, preventing it from accidentally attacking the body's own tissues," said a leading physiology specialist.

"The research is a remarkable example of how fundamental biological study can have broad implications for human health."