Prestigious Prize Recognizes Groundbreaking Body's Defenses Discoveries

The prestigious award in Physiology or Medicine was granted for revolutionary discoveries that illuminate how the immune system attacks dangerous infections while protecting the body's own cells.

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

Their research identified specialized "security guards" within the defense system that eliminate malfunctioning defense cells capable of harming the organism.

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

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

Decisive Discoveries

"Their work has been decisive for comprehending how the immune system functions and why we don't all develop severe self-attack conditions," commented the head of the Nobel Committee.

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

The immune system employs immune cells that search for signs of disease, including viruses and bacteria it has not met before.

Such cells utilize detectors—called receptors—that are produced randomly in a vast number of variations.

This provides the immune system the capacity to fight a wide array of invaders, but the randomness of the process inevitably creates white blood cells that may attack the body.

Security Guards of the Body

Researchers previously understood that some of these problematic white blood cells were destroyed in the thymus—where immune cells develop.

This year's Nobel Prize recognizes the discovery of regulatory T-cells—known as the immune system's "peacekeepers"—which patrol the system to neutralize other immune cells that assault the healthy cells.

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

A prize committee stated, "These findings have laid the foundation for a novel area of research and accelerated the development of innovative therapies, for example for tumors and autoimmune diseases."

Regarding cancer, regulatory T-cells prevent the system from attacking the tumor, so research are aimed at reducing their numbers.

For self-attack disorders, experiments are testing boosting T-reg cells so the organism is no longer under attack. A comparable method could also be effective in reducing the risks of transplanted organ failure.

Pioneering Studies

Professor Shimon Sakaguchi, from Osaka University, performed tests on mice that had their thymus extracted, causing autoimmune disease.

He demonstrated that injecting defense cells from other mice could prevent the disease—implying there was a system for preventing immune cells from attacking the host.

Mary Brunkow, from the Institute for Systems Biology in Seattle, and Dr. Ramsdell, now at a biotech firm in San Francisco, were studying an genetic immune disorder in mice and humans that led to the discovery of a genetic factor vital for how T-regs operate.

"Their groundbreaking work has revealed how the immune system is controlled by T-reg cells, preventing it from mistakenly attacking the body's own tissues," commented a prominent physiology expert.

"This work is a remarkable example of how fundamental biological research can have broad implications for human health."