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

Three renowned scientists—Japan's Prof. Sakaguchi and American experts Mary Brunkow and Dr. Ramsdell—share this honor.

Their research uncovered specialized "security guards" within the immune system that eliminate rogue defense cells that could attacking the organism.

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

The winners will share a monetary award valued at 11m Swedish kronor.

Crucial Findings

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

This trio's research explain a core question: How does the immune system defend us from numerous invaders while keeping our healthy cells intact?

The immune system employs white blood cells that search for signs of disease, even pathogens and germs it has never encountered.

Such cells employ sensors—known as receptors—that are produced randomly in a vast number of variations.

This provides the immune system the capacity to fight a broad range of invaders, but the randomness of the mechanism unavoidably produces immune cells that may target the body.

Protectors of the Immune System

Researchers earlier understood that some of these harmful white blood cells were destroyed in the thymus—the site where immune cells mature.

This year's Nobel Prize recognizes the identification of regulatory T-cells—known as the immune system's "peacekeepers"—which patrol the body to disarm other immune cells that attack the healthy cells.

It is known that this mechanism malfunctions in self-attack conditions such as type-1 diabetes, multiple sclerosis, and rheumatoid arthritis.

A Nobel panel stated, "The discoveries have established a new field of research and spurred the creation of new treatments, for example for cancer and autoimmune diseases."

In cancer, T-regs block the system from attacking the growth, so research are focused on reducing their numbers.

For autoimmune diseases, trials are exploring boosting T-reg cells so the body is no longer under attack. A similar method could also be effective in minimizing the chances of organ transplant failure.

Innovative Studies

Prof Shimon Sakaguchi, of a Japanese institution, performed experiments on rodents that had their immune gland removed, causing autoimmune disease.

The researcher showed that injecting defense cells from other mice could prevent the disease—implying there was a system for preventing immune cells from harming the host.

Mary 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 humans that resulted in the discovery of a gene vital for the way regulatory T-cells operate.

"Their pioneering research has uncovered how the immune system is kept in check by regulatory T cells, stopping it from mistakenly targeting the healthy cells," commented a leading physiology specialist.

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