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This year's Nobel Prize in medical science has been awarded for transformative discoveries that clarify how the body's defense network targets dangerous infections while sparing the healthy tissues.

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

The research uncovered unique "sentinels" within the immune system that remove malfunctioning defense cells capable of attacking the organism.

These findings are now enabling new treatments for autoimmune diseases and malignancies.

These laureates will divide a monetary award valued at 11m Swedish kronor.

Crucial Discoveries

"The research has been decisive for understanding how the body's defenses functions and the reason we don't all develop serious self-attack conditions," commented the head of the Nobel Committee.

This trio's studies explain a core mystery: How does the immune system defend us from numerous invaders while keeping our own tissues unharmed?

Our body's protection system uses immune cells that search for signs of infection, including pathogens and bacteria it has never encountered.

These cells utilize detectors—called receptors—that are generated by chance in countless combinations.

That gives the immune system the ability to fight a wide array of threats, but the unpredictability of the process inevitably creates white blood cells that can target the host.

Security Guards of the Body

Scientists earlier understood that a portion of these problematic defense cells were destroyed in the thymus—where white blood cells mature.

This year's Nobel Prize recognizes the discovery of T-reg cells—described as the body's "security guards"—which patrol the body to disarm any defenders that assault the body's own tissues.

It is known that this process fails in self-attack conditions such as type-1 diabetes, multiple sclerosis, and RA.

A Nobel panel stated, "The discoveries have established a novel area of research and spurred the creation of innovative treatments, for instance for tumors and immune disorders."

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

In autoimmune diseases, trials are testing increasing regulatory T-cells so the organism is no longer being harmed. A comparable method could also be effective in reducing the chances of transplanted organ failure.

Innovative Studies

Professor Sakaguchi, from a Japanese institution, performed tests on mice that had their immune gland removed, causing autoimmune disease.

He showed that injecting immune cells from healthy mice could stop the disease—suggesting there was a mechanism for preventing defenders from attacking the body.

Mary Brunkow, from the a research center in a US city, and Dr. Ramsdell, currently at Sonoma Biotherapeutics in a California city, were studying an inherited autoimmune disease in mice and humans that resulted in the discovery of a gene critical for how regulatory T-cells operate.

"Their pioneering research has uncovered how the immune system is kept in check by regulatory T cells, preventing it from accidentally attacking the healthy cells," commented a leading biological science expert.

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