🔗 Share this article

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

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

Their research identified unique "sentinels" within the defense system that eliminate malfunctioning defense cells capable of attacking the body.

The discoveries are now enabling new treatments for autoimmune diseases and cancer.

These laureates will share a monetary award valued at 11 million Swedish kronor.

Crucial Findings

"Their work has been decisive for understanding how the immune system operates and why we do not all develop severe self-attack conditions," commented the head of the award panel.

The trio's research address a fundamental question: In what way does the immune system protect us from numerous infections while leaving our healthy cells unharmed?

Our immune system uses immune cells that search for signs of infection, including pathogens and germs it has never encountered.

Such defenders employ detectors—called recognition units—that are produced by chance in a vast number of variations.

That provides the defense network the ability to fight a broad range of threats, but the randomness of the mechanism inevitably creates immune cells that may target the body.

Protectors of the Body

Scientists previously knew that some of these problematic white blood cells were destroyed in the thymus—where white blood cells mature.

This year's Nobel Prize honors the discovery of regulatory T-cells—described as the body's "security guards"—which travel through the body to neutralize any defenders that attack the healthy cells.

We know that this process malfunctions in self-attack conditions such as juvenile diabetes, multiple sclerosis, and rheumatoid arthritis.

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

In cancer, regulatory T-cells prevent the body from fighting the tumor, so studies are aimed at lowering their quantity.

In self-attack disorders, experiments are exploring boosting T-reg cells so the body is no longer being harmed. A similar method could also be effective in minimizing the chances of organ transplant rejection.

Pioneering Studies

Professor Shimon Sakaguchi, from a Japanese institution, conducted experiments on mice that had their immune gland removed, leading to autoimmune disease.

The researcher showed that injecting immune cells from other animals could prevent the illness—suggesting there was a system for blocking defenders from attacking the body.

Dr. Brunkow, from the Institute for Systems Biology in a US city, and Dr. Ramsdell, currently at Sonoma Biotherapeutics in San Francisco, were studying an genetic autoimmune disease in mice and people that resulted in the discovery of a gene vital for the way T-regs operate.

"The groundbreaking work has uncovered how the body's defenses is kept in check by regulatory T cells, stopping it from accidentally targeting the healthy cells," said a leading biological science specialist.

"This research is a remarkable illustration of how fundamental physiological study can have broad implications for public health."