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This year's prestigious award in medical science was awarded for transformative findings that illuminate how the immune system targets harmful infections while protecting the healthy tissues.

A trio of renowned scientists—Japan's Shimon Sakaguchi and American scientists Mary Brunkow and Fred Ramsdell—share this accolade.

The research identified specialized "security guards" within the defense system that remove rogue defense cells that could attacking the body.

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

These laureates will divide a monetary award worth 11 million Swedish kronor.

Crucial Discoveries

"The research has been essential for understanding how the body's defenses functions and why we don't all suffer from severe autoimmune diseases," stated the head of the award panel.

The trio's research address a core question: How does the immune system defend us from numerous infections while keeping our healthy cells intact?

The immune system uses white blood cells that search for signs of disease, even pathogens and germs it has not met before.

These defenders employ detectors—called receptors—that are generated randomly 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 produces white blood cells that may target the host.

Protectors of the Body

Scientists previously knew that a portion of these problematic white blood cells were destroyed in the immune organ—the site where immune cells mature.

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

We know that this mechanism malfunctions in autoimmune diseases such as juvenile diabetes, MS, and rheumatoid arthritis.

A prize committee stated, "These findings have established a new field of investigation and accelerated the development of new therapies, for example for cancer and immune disorders."

In malignancies, regulatory T-cells block the body from attacking the tumor, so studies are aimed at reducing their numbers.

In autoimmune diseases, trials are exploring increasing regulatory T-cells so the organism is no longer under attack. A comparable method could also be effective in reducing the chances of organ transplant rejection.

Innovative Experiments

Professor Shimon Sakaguchi, from a Japanese institution, performed experiments on mice that had their immune gland extracted, leading to self-attack conditions.

He demonstrated that introducing immune cells from healthy animals could prevent the disease—implying there was a system for blocking immune cells from attacking the body.

Mary Brunkow, from the Institute for Systems Biology in a US city, and Fred Ramsdell, now at Sonoma Biotherapeutics in a California city, were investigating an genetic immune disorder in mice and humans that led to the identification of a gene critical for the way T-regs function.

"Their groundbreaking work has revealed how the body's defenses is kept in check by regulatory T cells, stopping it from accidentally attacking the body's own tissues," said a leading biological science specialist.

"This research is a striking example of how basic physiological research can have far-reaching consequences for human health."