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This year's Nobel Prize in medical science was granted for revolutionary findings that illuminate how the immune system targets harmful pathogens while sparing the body's own cells.

Three esteemed scientists—from Japan Shimon Sakaguchi and American experts Mary Brunkow and Fred Ramsdell—received this accolade.

Their work uncovered specialized "sentinels" within the immune system that eliminate malfunctioning defense cells capable of harming the organism.

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

The winners will divide a prize fund valued at 11m Swedish kronor.

Decisive Discoveries

"The research has been decisive for comprehending how the immune system functions and the reason we do not all suffer from severe self-attack conditions," commented the head of the Nobel Committee.

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

Our immune system uses immune cells that scan for signs of disease, including viruses and germs it has never encountered.

These defenders employ sensors—known as receptors—that are produced randomly in a vast number of combinations.

That gives the defense network the ability to combat a wide array of threats, but the randomness of the process unavoidably produces white blood cells that may attack the body.

Security Guards of the Body

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

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

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

The prize committee added, "The findings have laid the foundation for a new field of investigation and accelerated the creation of new treatments, for example for cancer and autoimmune diseases."

Regarding malignancies, T-regs prevent the system from attacking the growth, so research are aimed at lowering their quantity.

In self-attack disorders, experiments are exploring increasing regulatory T-cells so the organism is no longer under attack. A similar method could also be effective in minimizing the chances of transplanted organ failure.

Pioneering Experiments

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

He showed that introducing defense cells from healthy animals could prevent the illness—implying there was a system for preventing immune cells from harming the body.

Mary Brunkow, from the Institute for Systems Biology in a US city, and Dr. Ramsdell, now at a biotech firm in San Francisco, were investigating an inherited autoimmune disease in mice and humans that led to the discovery of a gene vital for the way T-regs function.

"Their groundbreaking research has uncovered how the immune system is controlled by T-reg cells, preventing it from mistakenly attacking the healthy cells," said a leading biological science expert.

"This research is a striking illustration of how basic biological study can have far-reaching consequences for human health."