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The prestigious award in medical science was awarded for revolutionary discoveries that clarify how the body's defense network attacks harmful pathogens while sparing the body's own cells.

A trio of renowned scientists—Japan's Prof. Sakaguchi and US scientists Dr. Brunkow and Dr. Ramsdell—share this honor.

The work identified unique "security guards" within the defense system that remove rogue defense cells capable of attacking the organism.

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

The winners will divide a monetary award worth 11 million Swedish kronor.

Crucial Discoveries

"Their work has been essential for understanding how the immune system functions and why we don't all develop severe autoimmune diseases," commented the chair of the award panel.

The team's research address a fundamental question: In what way does the immune system defend us from numerous invaders while leaving our own tissues intact?

Our immune system uses white blood cells that search for signs of disease, including pathogens and bacteria it has never encountered.

Such defenders employ detectors—known as receptors—that are produced by chance in a vast number of variations.

This provides the immune system the capacity to fight a wide array of invaders, but the unpredictability of the process unavoidably creates white blood cells that can target the host.

Security Guards of the Body

Researchers earlier knew that some of these harmful white blood cells were eliminated in the immune organ—where immune cells mature.

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

We know that this mechanism fails in self-attack conditions such as juvenile diabetes, MS, and RA.

A Nobel panel added, "The findings have established a novel area of research and accelerated the creation of innovative therapies, for instance for tumors and immune disorders."

Regarding cancer, regulatory T-cells prevent the system from fighting the growth, so studies are focused on reducing their numbers.

In self-attack disorders, experiments are exploring increasing regulatory T-cells so the organism is no longer being harmed. A comparable approach could also be useful in reducing the risks of organ transplant failure.

Pioneering Experiments

Professor Shimon Sakaguchi, from a Japanese institution, conducted experiments on rodents that had their thymus extracted, causing self-attack conditions.

The researcher demonstrated that introducing defense cells from healthy mice could prevent the illness—suggesting there was a system for preventing immune cells from harming the body.

Mary Brunkow, from the Institute for Systems Biology in Seattle, and Dr. Ramsdell, currently at a biotech firm in San Francisco, were investigating an inherited autoimmune disease in rodents and people that resulted in the discovery of a genetic factor vital for how regulatory T-cells function.

"Their pioneering research has revealed how the immune system is kept in check by regulatory T cells, preventing it from accidentally attacking the body's own tissues," commented a leading physiology expert.

"This research is a striking example of how basic biological study can have broad consequences for human health."