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

A trio of esteemed scientists—Japan's Prof. Sakaguchi and US scientists Dr. Brunkow and Dr. Ramsdell—received this accolade.

The research identified specialized "sentinels" within the immune system that eliminate malfunctioning immune cells capable of harming the body.

These discoveries are now enabling innovative therapies for autoimmune diseases and malignancies.

The winners will share a prize fund worth 11 million Swedish kronor.

Decisive Findings

"The work has been decisive for comprehending how the body's defenses functions and why we do not all develop severe self-attack conditions," commented the head of the award panel.

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

Our immune system employs white blood cells that scan for indicators of disease, including pathogens and bacteria it has never encountered.

Such cells employ sensors—called receptors—that are generated randomly in a vast number of combinations.

That gives the defense network the ability to fight a broad range of threats, but the randomness of the process unavoidably creates white blood cells that can target the host.

Security Guards of the Body

Researchers earlier understood that a portion of these harmful defense cells were eliminated in the immune organ—the site where white blood cells mature.

The latest award recognizes the identification of regulatory T-cells—described as the immune system's "security guards"—which patrol the system to disarm any immune cells that attack the body's own tissues.

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

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

In cancer, T-regs block the body from fighting the tumor, so studies are focused on reducing their numbers.

In self-attack disorders, experiments are testing increasing T-reg cells so the organism is not being harmed. A similar approach could also be effective in reducing the risks of transplanted organ rejection.

Pioneering Studies

Prof Sakaguchi, of Osaka University, performed tests on mice that had their immune gland removed, leading to autoimmune disease.

The researcher demonstrated that introducing immune cells from other mice could prevent the illness—suggesting there was a system for blocking defenders from harming the body.

Mary Brunkow, from the Institute for Systems Biology in Seattle, and Dr. Ramsdell, now at Sonoma Biotherapeutics in San Francisco, were investigating an genetic immune disorder in rodents and humans that led to the identification of a genetic factor critical for the way T-regs operate.

"Their groundbreaking work has uncovered how the body's defenses is controlled by T-reg cells, preventing it from accidentally attacking the body's own tissues," said a prominent physiology specialist.

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