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The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was granted for revolutionary findings that clarify how the immune system attacks dangerous infections while sparing the healthy tissues.

A trio of renowned scientists—Japan's Prof. Sakaguchi and US scientists Dr. Brunkow and Fred Ramsdell—share this honor.

The research uncovered unique "sentinels" within the immune system that remove malfunctioning defense cells that could attacking the body.

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

These laureates will divide a prize fund valued at 11 million Swedish kronor.

Crucial Discoveries

"Their work has been essential for comprehending how the immune system operates and the reason we do not all suffer from severe self-attack conditions," commented the chair of the Nobel Committee.

The trio's studies address a fundamental mystery: In what way does the defense system protect us from numerous invaders while keeping our healthy cells intact?

Our immune system uses immune cells that search for indicators of infection, even pathogens and germs it has never encountered.

Such cells utilize detectors—called recognition units—that are generated by chance in a vast number of variations.

This gives the immune system the capacity to fight a broad range of threats, but the randomness of the process inevitably produces white blood cells that may attack the host.

Security Guards of the Immune System

Researchers previously knew that some of these problematic white blood cells were destroyed in the thymus—where immune cells develop.

The latest Nobel Prize honors the identification of T-reg cells—known as the body's "peacekeepers"—which patrol the system to disarm any immune cells that attack the healthy cells.

We know that this process malfunctions in self-attack conditions such as juvenile diabetes, MS, and rheumatoid arthritis.

The prize committee added, "The discoveries have established a novel area of research and spurred the creation of innovative therapies, for instance for cancer and immune disorders."

In cancer, T-regs prevent the system from attacking the growth, so studies are focused on reducing their quantity.

In autoimmune diseases, experiments are exploring boosting regulatory T-cells so the body is not being harmed. A similar method could also be useful in reducing the chances of transplanted organ rejection.

Innovative Studies

Professor Sakaguchi, from a Japanese institution, performed experiments on rodents that had their thymus removed, leading to self-attack conditions.

The researcher showed that injecting defense cells from other mice could prevent the disease—implying there was a mechanism for blocking immune cells from harming the body.

Dr. Brunkow, from the Institute for Systems Biology in Seattle, and Fred Ramsdell, currently at Sonoma Biotherapeutics in a California city, were studying an genetic immune disorder in mice and people that resulted in the discovery of a genetic factor critical for the way T-regs operate.

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

"The research is a striking example of how basic biological research can have far-reaching implications for human health."