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

Three esteemed researchers—Japan's Prof. Sakaguchi and US scientists Dr. Brunkow and Dr. Ramsdell—received this accolade.

The research uncovered specialized "security guards" within the immune system that remove rogue immune cells capable of harming the body.

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

The laureates will divide a monetary award valued at 11 million Swedish kronor.

Decisive Findings

"Their research has been decisive for understanding how the immune system operates and why we do not all suffer from severe self-attack conditions," commented the head of the Nobel Committee.

This team's studies address a core question: In what way does the immune system protect us from numerous invaders while keeping our healthy cells intact?

The immune system uses immune cells that search for indicators of disease, including viruses and bacteria it has never encountered.

These cells employ sensors—known as receptors—that are produced randomly in countless variations.

This provides the defense network the ability to combat a broad range of threats, but the randomness of the mechanism inevitably creates white blood cells that can target the host.

Security Guards of the Immune System

Scientists earlier knew that a portion of these problematic white blood cells were eliminated in the thymus—the site where white blood cells develop.

The latest award recognizes the identification of T-reg cells—known as the body's "peacekeepers"—which travel through the system to disarm any defenders that attack the body's own tissues.

We know that this process malfunctions in autoimmune diseases such as juvenile diabetes, MS, and RA.

The prize committee stated, "These discoveries have established a new field of research and spurred the creation of innovative treatments, for example for tumors and autoimmune diseases."

In malignancies, regulatory T-cells prevent the system from attacking the tumor, so research are aimed at lowering their quantity.

For autoimmune diseases, experiments are testing boosting regulatory T-cells so the body is no longer under attack. A similar method could also be useful in reducing the chances of organ transplant rejection.

Innovative Studies

Prof Shimon Sakaguchi, from Osaka University, performed tests on rodents that had their immune gland extracted, leading to self-attack conditions.

The researcher demonstrated that injecting immune cells from other mice could stop the disease—suggesting there was a system for blocking immune cells from attacking the host.

Mary Brunkow, from the Institute for Systems Biology in a US city, and Dr. Ramsdell, now at Sonoma Biotherapeutics in a California city, were studying an inherited immune disorder in mice and people that resulted in the identification of a gene vital for the way T-regs operate.

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

"The research is a remarkable example of how fundamental physiological study can have far-reaching consequences for human health."