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This year's prestigious award in medical science was granted for transformative discoveries that clarify how the body's defense network attacks dangerous infections while sparing the body's own cells.

A trio of esteemed researchers—Japan's Prof. Sakaguchi and American scientists Mary Brunkow and Fred Ramsdell—received this accolade.

The research identified specialized "sentinels" within the defense system that remove malfunctioning defense cells that could attacking the body.

These discoveries are now paving the way for new therapies for immune disorders and malignancies.

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

Decisive Discoveries

"The research has been decisive for understanding how the body's defenses functions and the reason we do not all suffer from serious self-attack conditions," commented the chair of the Nobel Committee.

This team's studies address a core question: In what way does the defense system defend us from numerous invaders while leaving our healthy cells unharmed?

The body's protection system employs white blood cells that search for signs of disease, including pathogens and bacteria it has not met before.

These defenders employ sensors—known as receptors—that are produced by chance in countless variations.

That provides the defense network the ability to combat a broad range of invaders, but the unpredictability of the mechanism inevitably produces immune cells that may target the host.

Protectors of the Body

Scientists earlier knew that a portion of these harmful defense cells were destroyed in the immune organ—where white blood cells mature.

This year's award honors the discovery of regulatory T-cells—known as the body's "security guards"—which patrol the system to neutralize other immune cells that assault the body's own tissues.

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

The prize committee added, "These discoveries have established a new field of investigation and spurred the development of innovative therapies, for instance for cancer and immune disorders."

In cancer, regulatory T-cells prevent the system from attacking the growth, so studies are aimed at reducing their numbers.

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

Pioneering Experiments

Professor Sakaguchi, of Osaka University, conducted tests on mice that had their thymus removed, leading to autoimmune disease.

The researcher showed that injecting defense cells from healthy mice could stop the illness—suggesting there was a mechanism for preventing defenders from attacking the body.

Mary Brunkow, affiliated with the a research center in a US city, and Dr. Ramsdell, now at a biotech firm in San Francisco, were studying an inherited immune disorder in rodents and people that led to the discovery of a genetic factor vital for the way T-regs function.

"The pioneering work has revealed how the body's defenses is kept in check by T-reg cells, preventing it from mistakenly targeting the body's own tissues," said a leading physiology specialist.

"The work is a striking example of how basic biological study can have broad implications for public health."